The Chilling Terror of “Open Water”
With its seemingly endless lapping waves and intimately focused camera lens writer/director/cinematographer Chris Kentis paints a terrifying and moving portrait of a scuba trip into hell. Inspired by a true event “Open Water” is the story of a young couple who embark on a much needed vacation only to be accidentally abandoned by their dive boat and left alone to battle the indiscriminate forces of the vast Carribean.
The desperation of the situation is made even more real by the convincing performances of Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis and Kentis’ keen ability of keeping the audience personally affixed to the couple’s plight and offering a riveting mirror of human emotions encompassing disbelief, panic, trust, love and horror. Rumor has it that the film was just picked up for major distribution and though shot on a low budget it’s a film that makes a lasting impression.
Sadly, the producers elected to not make a few insignificant edits (one brief nude scene and a few F-words)that could have kept the film rated PG-13, possibly selling millions more tickets.
Grade: A-
Rated R for Brief Nudity and Language