Movie Review
Suspense circles craftily in terrifying "Open Water"

By Moira Macdonald
Seattle Times movie critic

LAURA LAU / LIONS GATE FILMS On a scuba-diving vacation, Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) are accidentally left behind in the ocean by a tour boat.

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"I don't know what's worse," says Susan (Blanchard Ryan), treading water somewhere in the open sea. "Seeing them ... or not seeing them."

Yes, she's talking about sharks — and yes, "Open Water" is low in budget and high in carefully crafted suspense. Its simple, terrifying story is based on a true event: a couple on vacation goes out scuba diving on a tour boat, but is left behind in the ocean when a guide miscounts the tourists and takes the boat back home. Alone in the vast expanse of water, the two bob uneasily in the waves, wondering what to do — and then a fin glides into the shot. They gasp. And so do we.

Made by the husband-and-wife filmmaking team of Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, "Open Water" takes its time getting to the meat of its story. Susan and her boyfriend, Daniel (Daniel Travis), are garden-variety stressed-out yuppies going on a much-needed island holiday; and there's a bit too much tired banter involving burnout, sexual incompatibility and multiple cellphones in the movie's opening scenes. But once they're on the water, as an ominously cheerful guide reassures the group that there's no need to worry about sharks ("they're not very aggressive toward human beings"), the plot kicks in, and it's a doozy.

Movie review Showtimes *** "Open Water," with Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Estelle Lau. Written and directed by Chris Kentis. 79 minutes. Rated R for language and some nudity. Pacific Place, Neptune.

Kentis and Lau (who also served as cinematographers for the film) uncannily evoke a feeling of claustrophobia in this wide-open space, as Susan and Daniel's options become ever smaller. They can't swim, because the movement would attract the sharks' attention. They can't flag down a ship, because none are in sight. They can't even eat, because they don't have any food. All they can do is talk to each other, in increasing levels of panic (especially Daniel, who's recently watched "Shark Week: Disasters at Sea" on cable) and watch as the sun gradually sinks in the blue-gray sky.

It's a very pure, basic kind of terror, nail-bitingly fun to watch; made more so by the startling realism of the sharks. And there's a reason for that: Those are real sharks swimming right up to the actors, not the animatronic substitutes we've become accustomed to in bigger-budget films. They're often barely perceptible, dark shapes in the ever-moving water — which is, as Susan says, almost as scary as seeing them clearly. This 79-minute nightmare works efficiently and effectively; a mini-"Jaws" with its own kind of bite.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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