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OPEN WATER

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the series, see Open Water (film series).

Open Water
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChris Kentis
Written byChris Kentis
Produced byLaura Lau
Estelle Lau
StarringBlanchard RyanDaniel TravisSaul Stein
CinematographyChris Kentis
Laura Lau
Edited byChris Kentis
Music byGraeme Revell
Production
companies		Plunge Pictures LLC
Eastgate Pictures
Distributed byLions Gate Films
Release datesOctober 26, 2003 (HIFF)August 6, 2004
Running time79 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000
Box office$55.5 million

Open Water is a 2003 American survival horror film loosely based on the true story of the disappearance of Tom and Eileen Lonergan[1][2][3] the film follows an American couple who go scuba diving while on vacation, only to find themselves stranded miles from shore in shark-filled waters when the crew of their boat accidentally leaves them behind.

The film was financed by the husband and wife team of writer/director Chris Kentis and producer Laura Lau, both avid scuba divers.[4] It cost $500,000 to make and was bought by Lions Gate Entertainment for $2.5 million after its screening at the Sundance Film Festival. Lions Gate spent a further $8 million on distribution and marketing.[5] The film ultimately grossed $55.5 million worldwide (including $30 million from the North American box office alone).[6]

Plot

In an attempt to spend more time together, Daniel Kintner and Susan Watkins go on a scuba-diving vacation. On their second day, they join a group scuba dive.

While underwater, Daniel and Susan briefly separate from the group. As the group returns to the boat, a miscount causes the dive master to think everyone is back on board, and the boat leaves, stranding Daniel and Susan.

Stranded at sea, it slowly dawns on Daniel and Susan that their boat is not coming back for them. They bicker, battle bouts of hunger and mental exhaustion, and realize they have probably drifted far from the dive site. They also realize that sharks have been circling them below the surface. Soon, jellyfish appear, stinging them both, while sharks come close. Susan receives a small shark bite on the leg but does not immediately realize it. Daniel goes under and discovers a small fish feeding on the exposed flesh of her bite wound. Later, a shark bites Daniel, and the wound begins to bleed profusely. Susan removes her weight belt and uses it to apply pressure to Daniel’s wound, but he appears to go into shock.

After night falls, sharks return and attack Daniel during a storm, killing him. The next morning, Daniel and Susan’s belongings are finally noticed on the boat by a crew member, and he realizes that they must have been left at the dive site. A massive search for the couple begins immediately.

Susan realizes that Daniel is dead and releases him into the water, where sharks pull him down in a feeding frenzy. After putting on her mask, she looks beneath the surface and sees several large sharks circling her. Susan looks around one last time for any sign of coming rescue. Seeing none, she removes her scuba gear and disappears below the water.

Sometime later, a fishing crew cuts open a newly caught shark’s stomach, finding a diving camera, apparently that of Daniel and Susan. A fishermen offhandedly says “Wonder if it works”.

Cast

  • Blanchard Ryan as Susan Watkins
  • Daniel Travis as Daniel Kintner
  • Saul Stein as Seth
  • Michael E. Williamson as Davis
  • Cristina Zenato as Linda
  • John Charles as Junior
  • Estelle Lau as Affected-Ear Diver

Production

The filmmakers used live sharks, as opposed to the mechanical ones used in Jaws or the computer-generated fish in Deep Blue Sea. The film strives for authentic shark behavior, shunning the stereotypical exaggerated shark behavior typical of many films. The movie was shot on digital video. As noted above, the real-life events that inspired this story took place in the southern Pacific Ocean, and this film moves the location to the Atlantic Ocean, being filmed in The Bahamas, the United States Virgin Islands, the Grenadines, and Mexico.[7][8]

During the audition, Chris Kentis and Laura Lau made it clear to Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis that they would work with real sharks in the film and that it was non-negotiable. “So I was like ‘okay, that’s fine’ and I hadn’t been offered the part or anything yet, and then when I was offered the part, that had already been negotiated,” said Blanchard.[9]

Reception

Open Water received mostly positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 196 reviews with an average rating of 6.57/10. The consensus reads: “A low-budget thriller with some intense moments.”[10] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 63 out of 100, based on reviews from 38 critics’ reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.[11]

Most critics praised the film for its intensity and minimalist filmmaking, although it was not as well-received by audiences. Writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert praised the film highly: “Rarely, but sometimes, a movie can have an actual physical effect on you. It gets under your defenses and sidesteps the ‘it’s only a movie’ reflex and creates a visceral feeling that might as well be real”.[12] In a much less favorable review, A. O. Scott in The New York Times lamented that it “succeeds in mobilizing the audience’s dread, but it fails to make us care as much as we should about the fate of its heroes”.[13]

Box office

Open Water was produced for $120,000, and grossed $1 million in 47 theaters on its opening weekend. Its final worldwide gross is $54.7 million.[14]

Accolades

AwardCategorySubjectResult
31st Saturn AwardsBest Horror or Thriller FilmN/ANominated
Best ActressBlanchard RyanWon
Fangoria Chainsaw AwardsBest ActressNominated
Best Wide-Release FilmN/ANominated
Worst FilmNominated
Golden Trailer AwardsBest Thriller[15]Won
Best Independent[16]Nominated

Sequels

In 2006, a film marketed as a sequel titled Open Water 2: Adrift was released, although its plot is unrelated to Open Water.[citation needed] A third film in the series titled, Open Water 3: Cage Dive was released in 2017, following the first film’s plot of being a survival shark film, although unrelated story-wise.

See also

References

  1.  Brady, Tara (September 13, 2004). “Open Water“. hotpress.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  2.  “Hollywood’s ‘Open Water’ film earns rave reviews”. cdnn.info. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008.
  3.  Vagg, Stephen (October 22, 2025). “Bite on this! Why we’re obsessed with bloody shark flicks”. InDaily Qld. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  4.  Bonin, Liane (August 7, 2004). “Open Water: The new Jaws?”. EW. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  5.  “Open Water – Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information”. The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  6.  “Open Water (2004)”. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  7.  “Open Water (2003)”. Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  8.  Sontag, Deborah (August 1, 2004). “A Couple Go For a Morning Dive…” The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  9.  “Open Water: An Interview with Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis”. www.blackfilm.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  10.  “Open Water”. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  11.  “Open Water”. Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  12.  Roger Ebert (August 6, 2004). “Open Water, Chicago Sun-Times, August 6, 2004″. Rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  13.  Scott, A. O. (August 6, 2004). “Hanging With Sharks, at Their Dinner Hour”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 23, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  14.  Open Water statistics at Boxofficemojo.com Archived 2018-08-31 at the Wayback Machine. Box Office Mojo
  15.  GTA6 Best Thriller” Archived 2017-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. Golden Trailer Awards. Retrieved 19 December 2016
  16.  “GTA6 Best Independent” Archived 2017-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. Golden Trailer Awards. Retrieved 19 December 2016

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