I saw Open water and thought it was the worst movie ever made, dont go waste your money and go see it

Maybe the reason some people don't like the film is that there used to the classic hollywood narrative story where the good guys always win and triumph over adversity-unlike film noir where the villain(the sharks and the ocean) win or there is no definitive conclusion that you were hoping for. Just because it doesn't have a happy ending does not make it a bad film-it just makes it different from all the mass produced junk that holywood puts out there to make money.

People are not liking the film because it sucks, not because "the sharks win". The plot was predictable, and this was defintely not the "best shark movie since Jaws". I would rather watch the bad special effects in Jaws then ever watch Open Water again. What a waste of time.

I for one liked the movie. It was an unexpected ending. It kept me and other viewers wondering what would happen next. I doubt anyone in that theater with me thought the movie sucked. At the end of it, the whole entire theater was silent. I give the movie 4 stars.

I agree with whoever said the thing about people being used to hollywood crap. Open Water was a good film and it was also very psychological. I think it is definately worth watching.

I think the movie left too much stuff out. It left me down and kind of sickened. I was very let down that they were left out there and that it ended the way it did. The world is negative enough and there are enough bad things that happend, that when you see a movie and things work to the good. It is a release from reality.

I thought it was dumb and the worst movie EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do not waste your money. The only good part was seeing her tits in the bedroom scene.

u are all dumb this move was fucking mind blowing it was so shocking and by far the best movie of 2004 it scared the shit out of me and i will never scuba dive in my life thanks to this movie i give it 5 STARS i advise this movie to evrery one and at the end of my movie every one was silent like u just visted some ones grave sight :(

I agree with the comments regarding all those simple minded people out there that need all the Hollywood bliss fancy stunts and explosions. That's what our movie industry has come to. Just because there's no budget it sucks? Get a life you simple minded people! Open water is a somewhat true story, you need to try and understand what it might be like to be in a situation like that. It's not fiction, it's very real! It's happened many times in the very near past! Check the stats, you'll be astonished how many times this scenerio actually happened. Knowing how real it is, makes this movie a huge success!

If you are looking for a movie with a ton of action and adventure then you will not understand the value of this movie. Yes, it is a low budget film but it rocks. One must let their mind absorb the feeling of reality. Only if you do this will you acknowledge the real terror that is displayed. Excellent. Unigue. Frightful.

Wow! I think this movie was great! It depicted some of our greatest fears. Being helpless and in the middle of nowhere! It was reality, and the fact that this was filmed in the ocean and not some made up pool in a studio, made it even better. Not that we know exactly what happened out there with the real couple, but, I truly felt that this would be reality. So next time your on a vacation make sure you mingle A Lot! so no one forgets you!

I thought Open Water was really good - although my only complaint is that i thought the chick wasnt as a good an actor as the guy. she wasnt nearly distraught enough when her lover was eaten after she sent his body away. with the realization that you were fated to have the same death on top of watching someone you love be devoured, i think you'd be a weeping mess. and if you really came up after swimming for 40 minutes and there was NO boat maybe you'd be calm for a while...but they didnt even seem scared until he got bitten by the shark. i would've been a panicked...raving lunatic!!!

But overall its a good movie - i was intrigued and terrified. i give it 3 stars.

great movie

Open water presented itself as a low budget movie. No one knows what really happened to those people. The story could have been told in a better way than this movie. It was a waste of my money, and I left the theater saying What was the point of making this movie?

The movie to me was thought provoking and worth watching.

Overall, only watch the last 30mins and support the small film industry.

In detail, I thought the direction and content was like a holiday home movie and very tacky.

The film did improve once the actors got in the water and started acting like they were terrified cos I;m sure they were.

Some good suspence and a novel ending which did it's job by making me want to find out more about the real life story.

p.s. no evidence was found of a shark attack and the boats captain got of the man slaughter charge.

http://www.cdnn.info/article/open_water/open_water.html

This movie was was excellent. As stated, the whole theatre was silent at the end - very somber. The ones who don't like the movie are the ones who aren't smart enough to enjoy a movie that doesn't have car crashes, explosions, and of course, tits and ass. For those of you who didn't like the movie, you can go see Alien vs Predator or Daddy Daycare - it's more your speed.

I wasn't terribly fond of the movie, but it wasn't because of the somber end or constant lulls -- I came in to the movie expecting that. What I wasn't expecting was how low budget the film really was, with the film quality of a bad porn and the acting ability to match. It's a neat story, when you go around the web and read it, but certainly not worth this theater experience. Perhaps, someday, someone will try it again, and I'll probably see that one too.

I was rooting for the sharks.... after a few minutes of awful dialogue I couldn't think of a reason these two actors should return to shore. There were a few moments of beautiful water pictures, and the clouds, sky, and sunset were glorious. However I'd rather walk down to the beach and see those things for free. I want my $9.00 back! I think the reason one reviewer here said that at the end of the movie everyone in the theater was siltent is because we were all thinking, huh?? that's it?!!

This movie scared the shit out of me !!! i WAS going scuba diveing in south africa in 2 months but fuck that 1 now !!! It was a good film could have been doen better but it was good. May i add i feel this is going to have a bad effect on sharks once more just like jaws did.

This movie was neither profound nor thought-provoking. It is possible to do low budget and make a great film. Considering that they needed so little equipment and special effects...just some good cinematography. And the editing was crap: bird-iguana eye-bobbing bodies in water. They spent more time focusing on the tourists mixing margaritas than they did on building suspense. And as far as the end goes, I was glad she ended it quickly so we didn't have to hear her whine through the shark attack. Everyone in my theatre was silent at the end as well, until one guy said, "Well, that was a piece of crap, wasn't it?" Everyone laughed in agreement.

This was a very well made movie. I was interested but yet terrified of sharks before but now I don't think I can even fly over the ocean again without thinking of this movie. It was also surprisingly a touching and moving love story. It made me sad at the end. I would recommend it though.

Open Water is definitely not your typical Hollywood movie. It will not please movie-goers with short attention spans who need a lot of violence and nudity to maintain their interest. For mature viewers, the film is intense, well-acted, and believable. I had not read much about the actual incident on which Open Water is based, so the events were surprising and suspensful for me.
Open Water is intense, engaging, and sad. Though very well done in all respects, I wouldn't call it "enjoyable" at all. You need to be in the right frame of mind to get the most out of this movie.
I'll buy the DVD when it comes out and watch it when I'm depressed. "Hey, my life sucks right now, but at least I'm not those people." ;-)

This movie instills fear...the kind that is deeply buried in your psyche...the fear that you are alone and all the money, influence, contacts won't make a difference. You are paralyzed! Up against all odds...and yet optimism is prevalant!They believe that they will survive this nightmare and retell this story for the rest of their lives. Ultimately...they die and the audience (that is emotionally mature) is deeply connected with the two humans in the water. So much so that their death is taken personally and all the "stupid" iguana shots and life at the beach shots...just shows how life goes on and how their deaths went unnoticed. A powerful ending...they were ALONE! Frightening!

I haven't seen Open Water, and regret reading these posts. It comes out this Thursday in the UK and I still think I'll go see it, despite the negative views here. I have seen the trailer and the actors do look unusually calm in that. I definitely don't need to see tits or ass to be entertained, but I don't think I can take poor script as some have said. Cinema is much more expensive in UK.

I liked the movie, but there are some unrealistic things to be cleared up.

From the point of a diver, I saw some points of safety that not only the boat made, but the couple made - and it will help me to be a safer diver. First, they stayed off to themselves on the boat, they did not converse with other divers on the boat, so no one remembered them. If they had made contact with other divers, they would be curious to talk to them to find out how their dive went. They could have stuck with the group and done the "cattle dive" lining up behind the dive master who guides you, but some people do prefer to go on their own. However, you usually do see a lot more by following the dive master. He/she knows where all the good stuff is and have the best route. In the United States - every place I've ever dove, you are always on your own. The dive master only jumps into the water in an emergency. In the Carribean, the dive master is usually also your guide.

Second, the couple did not have some highly recommended safety equipment that I always dive with: a loud whistle, a safety sausage (blows-up, is bright orange and stands high above the water), a flash light. One diver made fun of me - he said I looked like a Xmas tree, well now I can say - get off my back.

The majority of dives are usually within sight of land. This is because we can only go to 130 feet as recreational divers. The further away from land, the deeper it gets, so it makes sense right? If you can't get the attention of other boats that may be in the area, I wouldn't wait - head for land while you have the energy. Don't figure the boat will discover their mistake right away and come back for you. You may not make it to another boat before they leave. There was a program called "Primal Scream" on the Discovery channel for shark week. A true story of how a woman got swept away from her dive boat in heavy currents by herself. She was in the most challenging conditions of the Gallapagos. Bahamas are no comparison. The sharks were freaking her out because they were curious, but she finally got a hold of herself and spotted land. It took her six hours and it was a very hostile entry with heavy surf and rocks, but she made it.

The psychology was very realistic and similar to being told you are dying. I can imagine my own reactions being very similar. First denial, then anger, then blaming and bargaining, then finally acceptance. Notice how she was no longer afraid at the end. She understood the situation and made a choice, drown or be eaten alive. However, the reef sharks in the movie (mostly black-tips) are very easy to discourage and doesn't take much to wave them away. My buddies were laughing at me when I was kicking two of them away from me as I was trying to get on the boat. They were 5-6 footers. Most divers who have been to the Bahamas have been in the water, no cages, while these kinds of sharks have been fed. Actually, in the movie they were deliberately sending those sharks into a feeding frenzy right around the divers/actors. She would probably have to be dead before they would be interested. She wasn't even that close. The biggest danger to the divers was dehydration. So all of this is really the Hollywood side of the movie.

Now ask yourself, how true can this movie possibly be? Both players died and no one to relate the actual story. So it is probably true that it is some kind of composite of experiences.

Dive operators are all very safe for the most part. We have to sign waiver forms before they even leave shore. We have to give them our dive certification cards. Most of them check you in by a name or tank number when you jump into the water and check you back in before leaving the dive site. I've never seen a dive operation that only did a head-count. And I think after this movie, you won't ever see one if they want to stay in business. You noticed that the boat operators in the movie didn't seem to notice that they had two tanks missing. Those are their own tanks. The boat was still a mess the next morning and those people's gear were not discovered until then. It's hard to imagine a dive operation this sloppy. No one going on vacation in the Bahamas can fly with their own tanks. You always use theirs.

I hope this movie does not hurt the dive industry. It's a wonderful sport and it is hard to imagine all the little pieces that would have to fall into place for a couple to be left overnight and die like this. Although it has happened - it is extremely rare. The guy said in the movie "it's more common than you think. I read it in dive magazines." That's just not true.

The supposed true story of this movie is about a couple who were left behind on a dive boat in Australia. See article:

http://www.cdnn.info/article/open_water/open_water.html

Karen -
Scuba Diver, Rescue Certified

Also see some great shots I got of sharks in the Bahamas at:

www.imageevent.com/karen_sac

I won Advanced Diver Magazine's photo of the month with the first picture.

Karen

Saw this in the London previews last night - everyone was freaked when the credits rolled. absolutely fantastic film. more reflective of the viewers psyche, not one for the unappreciative. Brilliant. 5 Stars.

I'm not a professional movie critic, but when a movie draws you in and makes you feel the misery as this one does, it is a good movie. I still get chills on thinking how it would feel like waking from a nap because of being bumped from a shark. I felt like I was in the water with them the whole movie.

ok...first off all this movie was WAAAAAY too short!...I just saw it five minutes ago on my PC..i downloaded it....i dont know if i like it or not...i saw the trailer like a million times and was expecting it to be brilliant, im confused by the ending! it was dark and scary...how did Daniel die? i just thought he was asleep...did he bleed to death? (ill never let go daniel! wat a bitch to do that!...and then did she just go under till she couldnt hold her breath anymore or did she swim head first into a shark to get it over and done with??? someone please email me and shed some light on this

I just got back from seeing Open Water and although the actual evidence left behind in the case of the unfortunate couple the story was based upon did not suggest that they were victims of shark attack I felt the movie was a tense and somewhat realistic version of what could happen under circumstances such as those depicted in the film. The only thing that would have made the film better is if they would not have held back. Once a feeding frenzy is established the odds are very good that unless it's interrupted by the removal of a food source either through ingestion or rescue the sharks are not going to stop eating until there is nothing left but the fleshy scraps suitable only for the smaller fish that tag along for a free meal. It's probably a good thing that this project was not mine as most people found the fact that no one survived disturbing enough. LOL Pussy's.

I found Open Water to be a diasppointment purely because of all the media hype. There was poor acting throughtout the film, and there was a lack of excitement, however the film did have it's positive aspects such as the realism of the trauma of being stranded at Sea. The fact that the relationship between Daniel and Susan ended on a sour note due to their arguement demonstrates the extent of their stress and trauma they were experiencing. It was an unexpected ending aswel, which should please the viewer but it failed to deliver a good solid script and performances throught the movie.
Overall only worthy of 2 *'s.

Firstly I'm scared to death of sharks and for that reason alone they hold my interest. Ever since I saw Jaws as a kid I've been afraid to go in the sea.

I was looking forward to seeing Open Water but by the end wished I hadn't bothered.

To me the film was very much the same as The Perfect Storm, no one really knows what happened so why get the public all excited by saying it's based on a True Story? The only thing we know for definate that's true is that they were left behind.

It's a scenario that I'm sure has happened to alot of people and a film that could of been made better. Sharks scare me, not 2 people floating in the sea peeing in there wetsuits.

It was a good attempt but nowhere near as good as I hoped it to be.

Just watched Open Water and stumbled across this site with comments on it.

Have to say due to all the media hype i too was disapointed with this flick.

nuthin in particular but i suppose when u make a movie based on true events which u dont really know anything about it is going to be short and vague with no real ending.

i wouldnt recommend this movie but its worth a watch.

Hi, totally agree with everyone who commented on the shallow minded ignorance of some people, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and if you dont like the movie fine but how can your degrade a pictation of two people lives being cut short by making comments such as "best part was seeing her tits", i reccomend you read the details behind the movie, the evidence they found and the feeling that the family of those concerned were left with after such a loss, i foud the flick informative and it totaly acheived its goal of making you wonder exactly what happend to them, and any movie reaching its goal is a hit, unfortunatly people dont understand whats going on unless there are mofo's running round with guns pulling off stunts that defy physical capability, but like i say im not slating those whos opinion is that the flick wasnt much cop, i enjoyed it but feel to some extent (after reading the real story) that it would have been much more respectful towards the families to have not made it, thanks for reading :)

Hi, totally agree with everyone who commented on the shallow minded ignorance of some people, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and if you dont like the movie fine but how can your degrade a pictation of two people lives being cut short by making comments such as "best part was seeing her tits", i reccomend you read the details behind the movie, the evidence they found and the feeling that the family of those concerned were left with after such a loss, i foud the flick informative and it totaly acheived its goal of making you wonder exactly what happend to them, and any movie reaching its goal is a hit, unfortunatly people dont understand whats going on unless there are mofo's running round with guns pulling off stunts that defy physical capability, but like i say im not slating those whos opinion is that the flick wasnt much cop just those who fail to see beyond the low budget film making and realise that this is truely a tragic event, i enjoyed it but feel to some extent (after reading the real story) that it would have been much more respectful towards the families to have not made it, thanks for reading :)

What kind of sharks were these? They were not Great Whites due to the size, people are under the impression that sharks see someone an attack and kill them - not all sharks do that! There are some sharks that are huge but only eat small fish and plankton, etc!

I found the film good but at the end I did say "is that it". People were expecting Jaws style killings, but this is based on a true story so they couldnt hype it up for the families involved's feelings.

I am fascinated by sharks and the ocean but at the same time scared, that is the reason I really wanted to go and see this because I am so fascinated.