"The Blair Witch Project" was a stripped down, low

budget horror film that scared audiences with what they didn't

see. It changed the face of the horror film, at least for a little

while, and "Open Water" is probably the best of the "Blair

Witch" derivatives. Shot on a high end digital camera with

a very small cast and crew, "Open Water" only gives

the audience glimpses of the terror below the floating couple.

The real scares come from the imagination. In "Blair Witch" audiences

thought about being lost in the woods and perhaps cancelled that

upcoming hike. "Open Water" will probably damage the

scuba diving industry like "Psycho" damaged the creepy

motel industry.

The plot of "Open Water" is very basic. Daniel and

Susan, a married couple having trouble finding time to connect,

decided to take a vacation earlier than planned and head for

the beach. While there they go scuba diving and everything's

peachy, until they surface and the boat they went out with is

gone. That is when the frights take over. Daniel and Susan are

stranded. They can't see land from where they are and though

they try to remain positive about being found, as the hours pass,

they begin to get more and more frightened and desperate. Add

some sharks to the mix and you have yourself a scary movie.

The filmmakers used real sharks and that definitely adds a compelling

element to the film, but one of the scarier ideas that "Open

Water" brings up is, how easy it is to misplace people. "Open

Water" is based on true events and even Daniel tells Susan

that boats leaving divers behind isn't that uncommon. "Blair

Witch" illustrated how easy it is to get lost in the woods

and "Open Water" shows audiences how easy it is to

be forgotten.

"Open Water" also succeeds, like "Blair Witch" because

of what it doesn't show the viewer. Blanchard Ryan, the

actress who plays Susan, has one of the best lines in the film,

when she states that "she hates not knowing what's

under her." While much of the film takes place on the surface,

the things going on beneath Daniel and Susan are terrifying.

Where "Open Water" vaults itself into the strata of

good filmmaking is that both Daniel and Susan have issues beneath

their surface as well and they both change as their characters

deal with this incredibly traumatic event.

"Open Water" is no "Jaws," but it isn't

trying to be. It takes it's scares more seriously and the

sharks, though they ultimately are predators, aren't some

kind of super-predator stalking innocents. They are simply living

their lives and doing what sharks do. The humans are the ones

that aren't supposed to be there and their struggle is what

makes the film so fascinating.

**

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