Open Water/ Open Water 2: Adrift

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Open Water


Made by a husband-wife team with a budget of $150,000, “Open Water” (2004) was later purchased by Lionsgate for $2.5 million. After receiving rave reviews from critics and with positive word of mouth, the movie raked in about $55 million at the box office, making it one of the most successful independent movies ever, after “Paranormal Activity” (2007) and “Mad Max” (1979).

“Open Water” is based on a true story in which an American couple is gone missing in the ocean. Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) decide to take a vacation break from their busy lives. While scuba diving, they drift away from their designated diving spot. To make matters worse, the boat crew miscounts the number of divers returning to the boat. Susan and Daniel are left alone in the ocean, but they hope the crew will come back for them after seeing their belongings in the boat. But as time passes, they soon realize that there will no help, and their fate in shark-infested waters hangs in the balance.

The concept used in “Open Water” is fairly unique--the fear of being left alone in the ocean. Of course, the main thought dominating the mind in this situation is: Am I going to be eaten alive by sharks? While it is a valid fear, “Open Water” does not glamorize this fear by making sharks jump everywhere around Susan and Daniel. Instead, the director, Chris Kentis, also focuses on the psychological and medical conditions; namely, hyperthermia and aquaphobia. In addition, as Susan and Daniel battle in the ocean, they also deal with dehydration--with no fresh water to replenish their bodily fluids. Their helplessness in this situation and the constant fear of what is going to happen eventually takes an emotional toll on them. It is for these reasons that “Open Water” really gets under your skin.

Owing to the limited budget, the film uses two unfamiliar actors, and the movie presents both of them in their first leading roles. There is no supporting cast in the story. In addition, the director employs several techniques that make this film a minimalist effort. Shot solely with handheld cameras on a boat, the filmmakers stay away from expensive special-effects; the entire movie is a collection of shots in a small section of the ocean.

“Open Water” succeeds because it focuses on keeping things simple. The horror depicted is realistic and convincing, and the filmmakers never bombard us with the “shark” fear factor. Instead, the writers have crafted a simple tale that examines the harrowing effect of being left alone in the ocean--both from an emotional as well as a medical perspective. The acting leaves a bit to be desired, and I felt the movie could have benefited had the writers provided additional details on Susan’s and Daniel’s lives. Despite this, “Open Water” is an entertaining indie flick.

Film Rating = 8/10

Open Water 2: Adrift
“Open Water 2: Adrift” (2006) is an inevitable sequel to “Open Water,” supposedly also based on a true story.

Six idiots along with an infant decide to take a boating trip, deep in the ocean.  All six idiots jump in the water leaving the infant alone on the boat, also forgetting to lower the ladder before they jump in. For the next ninety minutes, the six idiots try to find a way to get to their boat.

Two of the idiots use a plastic inflated dolphin toy to get up to the boat.  Then all six idiots give up.

Later, one of the idiots accidentally stabs another of the idiots. One idiot drowns herself and another gets injured in the head. And yet another decides to swim for the shore.

Finally, two of the idiots figure out a way to get to the boat. After what the group went through, one idiot decides not to come to the boat. The other idiot decides to rescue him, again leaving the kid alone.

I was hoping this sequel would add something unique to the original, but that has rarely happened if you look at the history of past sequels. Instead, the movie brings in the six dumbest characters ever to grace the screen (there you go, I said it). If you look at the entire premise, the story hangs on highlighting the common sense evading the characters. You can buy it to a certain extent, but when the entire story begins with such stupidity, you wonder if the filmmakers, like its characters, were foolish enough to give their approval to such an appalling script. Agreed, there have been several bad sequels in the past--the “Saw” sequels, the “Star Wars” prequels, the “Omen” sequels, and the “Exorcist” sequels. Nonetheless, as a worst sequel, “Open Water: Adrift” beats all of them by a wide margin.  There is no redeeming aspect to the story and with its unintelligent characters, the film is painful to watch from beginning to end. The suffering inflicted by this movie on this viewer is far more than the agony its characters undergo. Enough said.

Film Rating = 1/10

Video:
“Open Water” was shot entirely with handheld, home-use cameras and never shot on traditional film stock. Therefore, the transfer does not leap from the screen. Only close-ups look good, wherein the colors are lifelike. The long shots suffer because of a lack in detail and sharpness. Being an indie movie, I don’t think “Open Water” looks any better in 1080p.

“Open Water” Video Rating = 6/10

On the other hand, the crappy sequel, “Open Water 2: Adrift,” looks wonderful in the HD edition. The colors are bright and vibrant, and the detail excellent. Deep blues are rendered for the ocean that have a naturalistic feel to it, and the night shots have remarkable sharpness.

“Open Water 2: Adrift” Video Rating = 8/10

Audio:
Both the movies are presented in lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. “Open Water” is driven by the front-channels with the dialogue clear throughout. Evidently, the movie’s ambiance is serene even in the background of splashy oceanic waves. Overall, the soundtrack works well.

“Open Water” Audio Rating = 6/10

The track for “Open Water 2: Adrift” is dynamic as compared to the first movie. The dialogue is crisp and better sounding. The night shots trigger the surround channels, and the bass is activated in the final storm sequence.

“Open Water 2: Adrift” Audio Rating = 9/10

Extras:
“Open Water” includes a number of informative extras.  Starting off, we get two audio commentary tracks: one with filmmakers Chris Kentis and Laura Lau and a second one with actors Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis. In the first track, the filmmakers talk about the challenges in shooting, the equipment used, and how they included sharks in the movie. The actor’s track digs deeper into the challenges they had to go through in some scenes--specifically, those that involved staying in the water for long durations.

Following this, we have a set of seven deleted scenes; most of them show the interactions between Susan and Daniel before their actual dive.

Up next is a short featurette, “The Indie Essentials,” that explores how the film was made, its Indie look, and its eventual buyout by Lionsgate.

After this, we get another making-of featurette, this one called “Calm Before the Storm.” Here, the filmmakers provide insights on the camera equipment used and the homemade feel to the film. They also talk about digital filming in general and the character development through the screenplay.

Next, we have some on-location footage with director Chris Kentis. Here, Kentis dives in the ocean with his camera to shoot a scene with sharks.

Finally, a theatrical trailer of the movie is included.

“Open Water 2: Adrift” only features one extra: a regular making-of featurette.

Parting Thoughts:
“Open Water” is made with a lot of heart and energy. The plot is interesting, scary, and completely believable. It closely follows the footsteps of “The Blair Witch Project” (1999), an indie concept produced with minimum investment that has become hugely successful in terms of monetary benefit both for the studio as well as the filmmakers. “Open Water” impresses with its simplicity, and it never goes over the top in using sharks as the only horror element. Instead, it slowly builds on the concept of being left alone in the ocean by showing the emotional trauma as well as physical effects through its characters. My ratings are only for the original movie. You can completely ignore the fact that a garbage sequel exists for “Open Water.”

"Open Water"  succeeds in presenting a compelling scenario of being left alone in the ocean.

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