Open Water is tedious to the point to being unwatchable – but that’s kind of the point. It’s a gimmick film, but it actually works in part.

There is no plot to Open Water other than that Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis), a young couple on vacation to get away from the stress of a busy working life, are accidentally left behind on a scuba diving trip. For the rest of the film we sit watching the couple as they bob around in the middle of the ocean.

It’s more engaging that you might think. Tension rises as the couple begin to realize they’ve actually been left behind, that it’s too far to shore, and then that no one is coming back for them. Then it gets worse – sharks come.

Filmed with a gritty film stock that makes it look kind of like home video, Open Water is especially unsettling to the degree that it really does fell real. But aside from some genuinely unsettling moments – open water offers nothing of merit in particular. The simple idea is drawn out for too long – even though it’s only 79 minutes.

Simply put, I have no desire to sit through this little film ever again – but then, that’s kind of the point.

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