Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Open Water

This is topic Open Water in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Tim Arista (Member # 2511) on 08-07-2004, 01:55 PM:

This was an extremely fair film. If it weren't for it's terrible acting I'd call it a good film. The whole film seems really unrehearsed and amateur. I have seen some student films that seem more rehearsed than this. If you're expecting to be scared at all then don't be. I saw this after I saw Collateral and I was honestly more scared in Collateral than I was in this. But overall Open Water turned out to be an okay film that has a slight emotional affect on you.

6/10

(Oh, BTW, the girl in the lead is super hot)

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 08-19-2004, 05:56 PM:

At four reels, this was still 2 reels too long. Slow and boorish with terrible acting and an even worse ending. Not only this, but the DV blowup was terrible.

*** SPOILER ***

WTF is up with both of them dying at the end? I felt like all the time spent watching this was wasted. I feel cheated even. The rescue chopper and rescue boats should have gotten to them within a few more hours.

[thumbsdown]

Save the time and skip this one altogether. [thumbsdown]

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-20-2004, 04:25 AM:

Indeed, this movie was nothing more than "fair". For what it was looking at what these people had to work with, it is pretty impressive though. However it still get the "fair" review.

And I agree, the DV blowup was incredibly bad.

***SPOILERS***
This script could've been beefed up so much. For example, during the movie it is explained that sharks are attracted to blood. Great, so the guy's leg is bleeding and yet they still stay together. Rather than have the guy quietly die then get eaten, this movie could've had a more profound effect had the sharks kept trying to nibble on him and the two of them realize that the only way the girl had any chance of not being eaten was for them to seperate themselves since she was not in a position to attract the sharks. There could've been a powerful "last goodbye" scene and then her having to deal with watching her husband be eaten alive, etc.

Lots of things like this which given a rewrite could've made the film far more scarier than the tame "not deserving of an R rating" that it is.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-20-2004, 04:27 AM:

Raise your hand if you hate VIDEO! Horrible image quality...other than that it was OK. I thought the nightime scenes were a little chilling. I would not say it is really scary though. Pretty boring at times though, I expect it to do nicely opening day and then drop off quickly.

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 08-21-2004, 10:08 AM:

Couldn't agree more with these comments. The image quality was absolutely horrible. It was almost giving me a headache.

As for the film. I guess they threw in the full nudity scene just to get in rated R. Not that I minded that particular scene.

--------------
SPOILER
--------------

A little re-write would have gone so far. Yes, if this situation had really happened, most likely they both would have died. But, this is a movie and therefore can be slightly unrealistic and is supposed to be ENTERTAINING. I like Brad's script suggestion. The guy could have been heroic and sacrificed himself. They could have had a great last goodbye scene. And then the rescue plane could have spotted the girl and it would have felt complete.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-21-2004, 11:09 AM:

Of the hundreds od dive boats I've been on over the years I've never been left behind or close to it. On one dive the Dive Master even came down to retreive myself and my dive buddy as everyone else had been back on board for some time and had gotten sea sick. So we came back up through all the puke floating in the water and got back on the boat [puke]

. Back on board we found out that it had just been everyones first or second time in the ocean.
Mark

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 08-22-2004, 10:30 PM:

This was OK..I really got tired of the DV about 10 seconds after the film started. This WAS NOT SCARY at all. I would call it a drama at best. I took it for what it was worth and actually was entertained a bit by it. I wanted to see what would happen next.

The female lead, Blanchard Ryan, is VERY attractive and I didn't mind the nudity at all either [Smile]

It really didn't fit, but hey...

Overall, See this if you are really bored one day...1.5/5

BTW, I'm glad this was short, but they could've developed the plot on shore a little better when they finally searched for them.

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 08-22-2004, 11:47 PM:

**SPOILER**

Even though I haven't seen the movie I have to point out that it was based on a true story. In real life the two divers that were left behind were never found and are therefore presumed dead.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 08-23-2004, 03:33 AM:

It is not based on "a true story." It is based "on true events."

It is a known fact that people get left behind sometimes. It is also a known fact that sharks sometimes attack people. That's enough right there. I suspect that OPEN WATER consists of tons of little anectodal details, cobbled together from dozens of true stories (from people who were rescued).

My take on this movie is that it is THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT set on the ocean. If you didn't like BLAIR WITCH you won't like this one either. I enjoyed both movies.

My uncle had an interesting take on OPEN WATER. He is a diver with hundreds of dives' worth of experience and he said that everybody in the movie -- the dive boat team and the divers themselves -- made too many "stupid" mistakes. I argued that if any of this COULD happen that it would be enough to make the movie valid. He said "that would NEVER happen." Of course, it's hard for me to take a claim like that seriously. He explained all of the checks and balances that are in place and talked a lot about PADI...but then I pointed out that the film never claimed that the dive boat team were PADI certified. The divers themselves seemed to be newbies...the girl mentioned something about their certification classes.

Anyway.

So it's okay to point out that DV sucks or whatever but -- having been a DV filmmaker myself -- I understand the value of DV because movies like BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and OPEN WATER would not be possible without it. A lot of us would all still be dreaming of making movies instead of actually doing it.

One day an independent flick (shot on DV) will come along and you will love it and then perhaps you will change your mind about whether video sucks or not.

I was offered a free 35mm motion picture camera for my next movie but had to turn the offer down because SHOOTING FILM IS EXPENSIVE.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-23-2004, 11:59 AM:

I don't have a problem with people making movies on DV. I'm just not eager to watch such footage blown up on a commercial movie theater screen.

For movies shot on video, I'd rather rent them on DVD to keep it an all-video based thing. On top of that, I would very much prefer the videographers to do away with that pretentious photo chemical step. Leave the f**king video looking like video! Gahhh! All movies shot on video look even worse with that film step thrown into the process. It totally ruins the color quality.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-23-2004, 10:30 PM:

Given the option of running the show off of a 35mm print with a top notch projection system vs. running the show off of a DV tape or expertly compressed DVD on a 3 chip DLP projector, I would go for the DLP projector hands down every time.

If it was shot on film, it will look better projected on film. If it was shot on video, it will look better projected on video.

I agree with Bobby, this film would have been more enjoyable had I watched it on DVD at home.

(With these last three posts, this is potentially a new discussion beginning that should be moved into FHF if anyone else cares to comment.)

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-24-2004, 06:04 AM:

"Of course, it's hard for me to take a claim like that seriously. He explained all of the checks and balances that are in place and talked a lot about PADI...but then I pointed out that the film never claimed that the dive boat team were PADI certified. The divers themselves seemed to be newbies...the girl mentioned something about their certification classes."
_____________________________________________________________

You're Uncle is dead right! On a properly staffed dive boat this would never happen. All dive boats are run by divers with at least a Divemaster rating, and many have instructor rating. There are also at least four other dive certifications that are out there and one cannot get their tanks filled if they are not certified, its that simple. The only others you might encounter on a dive boat are a few snorlkers but they are usually sent out on boats that go out just for snorkers. Some divers will snorkle so they don't get seasick when they run out of air untill the rest of the crew is back on board.

Mark

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 08-24-2004, 01:15 PM:

quote: Manny Knowles
It is also a known fact that sharks sometimes attack people.

Only a few days ago, a man was killed by a Great White off the Mendocino (Northern CA) coast. A little while ago, they sighted one near the beach not far from here. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water...

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-24-2004, 01:31 PM:

I for one would not get onto a dive boat full of tourists if there was not an instructor or divemaster on board. This could hypothetically happen, but even IF they were left in the water, it would be very quickly noticed because not all of the the gear would be on board. Trust me, dive shops know when their gear is missing.

It doesnt have to be plausible to be entertaining though.

What would have been better is if they were being eaten by Orca whales. It would have been nice to see them toss the divers around like seals. Of course Orcas are usually friendly and dont attack humans, often.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 08-25-2004, 01:28 PM:

But they could be genetically mutated killer orcas! From taking in the toxic waste of a seaside nuclear plant!

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 08-25-2004, 01:34 PM:

They should have used sharks with frikkin laser beams on their heads.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 08-26-2004, 04:34 AM:

It's a question but it's also a potential SPOILER [Eek!]

:

What happens in the end? She gets rid of her diving gear, puts on the mask and disappears. Why? What?

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 08-26-2004, 09:07 AM:

Answer maybe, but potential spoiler.....

I think she was drowning herself. The only thing that seemed to be a mistake was a continuity issue. She took off her weights earlier in the movie. Maybe she took his weights before she let him go and they didn't show it.

With regards to this kind of thing happening. My friend knew of 2 specific incidents but they both involved drift diving where the boat is supposed to follow the divers. One was in the south pacific during the day. The divers were drifting but the boat had engine trouble. Instead of calling for another boat, the captain decided to try to fix the engine. After several hours of trying, he had lost track of the divers. They were never found (I think it was 5 of them).

The second incident happened on a night drift dive. The divers were each teathered to a lighted buoy type thing. One of the divers (who my friend personally knew) came up and there was no boat. He then realized that he became disconnected from his buoy thing. Somehow, by luck, the boat found him.

So, in reality, the same exact situation wouldn't be likely but a similar result is possible.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-26-2004, 01:11 PM:

quote: Michael Schaffer
What happens in the end? She gets rid of her diving gear, puts on the mask and disappears. Why? What?

The only thing keeping them on the surface were their BC's (bouyancy comensator) which was full of air and acting like a floatation device. After being in the water without food or fresh water for 24 hours, she would not be able to keep herself on the surface.

Yes you are naturally positively bouyant, but think about how hard it is to keep your head above water in a pool, much less in the ocean with waves and currents.

Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 08-26-2004, 01:31 PM:

I liked it. Although, the night time lightning scene should have gone on longer... That was the best part, and then it quickly ended. Also, the nudity scene was completely not necessary and uncalled for...

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 08-26-2004, 10:18 PM:

So, she simply gives up and goes under? That is kind of a letdown after watching them try to survive all this time. How did the guy die? From exhaustion or some kind of shock after he had been bitten ba the shark? Aren't sharks supposed to go berserk when there is blood in the water? Why didn't they eat him?

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-27-2004, 02:26 AM:

Who knows...He lost a lot of blood and would have died quickly from the cold. I agree about her dying at the end that way.

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 08-27-2004, 02:44 AM:

I thought this movie sucked. Thats all I have to say...

Posted by Dan Lyons (Member # 1454) on 08-27-2004, 03:30 AM:

I hate this film.... but i also love it. Gotta love something that is 4 reels long! I've been out of there by 9:15 most nights. [thumbsup]

danny

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-27-2004, 04:19 AM:

Well Dan you can look at it this way, Open Water runs 6 times a day vs. Collateral running 4 times a day. What's less of a hassle? [Razz]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-11-2004, 01:46 PM:

I thought it was pretty good, although I agree with the comments about the image.

The ending reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, the way it just leaves you with a feeling of despair rather than being all happy.

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 09-12-2004, 10:47 PM:

Nudity may have be uncalled for but more than welcome here [thumbsup]

Rest of the movie however [sleep]