The thought of being left behind in the sea is one of the primary human fears and also fascination as a lot of fears tend to be. ‘Open Water’ is a film that plays on this fear and helps you get rid of any fascination you may have for it.

The film is inspired by a true incidence that happened off the shore of Queensland in Australia. A couple goes out on a scuba diving/snorkeling trip and a boat takes them a few miles in the ocean and then a head count error results in the boat leaving them behind in the open water to fend for themselves. While it is hard enough to survive in ocean water due to hunger, dehydration and general fatigue, what makes matters worse is that the waters are heavily infested with sharks.

The film mostly concentrates on the single notion of the claustrophobia of the limitless ocean. The plot is mostly just events put together to support that rather sadistic theme. The dance of hope and despair, of human folly and achievement that plays within the confines of a vast ocean is what is mostly the director’s pre-occupation. He isn’t really too concerned about the actual plot or the story. The characters don’t matter because it could have been anyone. This becomes increasingly evident as the story moves along often predictably and then ends curtly without a payback leaving you in utter sense of loss and misalignment.

While an interesting film to watch, ‘Open Waters’ is essentially an incomplete film that leaves you thirsty in a rather irritating way – much like the characters in the film dying slowly from the paradoxical dehydration while floating in water.