It's a cruel, cruel summer
Open Water hopes to unleash the shark, not to jump it.

By Cheryl Eddy

FORGET, FOR an instant, Open Water's zealously spine-tingling ad campaign. "We didn't set out to make a horror film," writer-director-editor and co-cinematographer Chris Kentis assured me over the phone, quickly adding, "Or a shark movie." According to Kentis, sharks just happen to be one element of Open Water, a digitally shot, based-on-true-events tale of two spectacularly unlucky scuba divers left stranded miles offshore.

But Open Water is absolutely a "shark movie," and, as it turns out, pretty horrifying – even more so when you consider Kentis and co-cinematographer-producer Laura Lau (who also happens to be his wife; the scuba-loving pair financed the film themselves and shot it over two-plus years on vacations from their day jobs) didn't have a Jaws-style stunt shark on the payroll. With the help of "shark wranglers" like Stuart Cove (who worked on the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, among others), a relatively tame shark population, and some well-timed bloody bait, Kentis was able to capture all the fin-filled footage he needed, no special effects required.

It's almost too bad this behind-the-scenes information isn't conveyed in the film's opening credits – it might enhance the experience for unsuspecting filmgoers prepped for a computer-generated shriekfest, like, say, Deep Blue Sea. But a Jaws rip-off this ain't; if all you want are extreme close-ups of bloody-toothed maws, turn to the Discovery Channel instead. Kentis is right: Open Water isn't a horror film, in the conventional sense. Though every line is scripted, Open Water has an almost documentary feel to it; it literally floats along, allowing dread and despair to slowly build over 79 minutes. A few jolts aside, there's no standout Roy Scheider-with-a-chum-bucket moment, no attempt at Hollywood-style scare tactics.

Considering its tiny crew, cast of unknowns, digital camera work, plot revolving around being lost and frightened, and Sundance Film Festival success, Open Water faces inevitable comparisons to The Blair Witch Project. Which is also to say, if you hated Blair Witch's most polarizing elements – spastic digital camera work (anyone who's easily seasick: you've been warned) and dialogue that consists mostly of arguing – Open Water might also be a challenge.

Fortunately, Open Water's characters are a smidge more sympathetic than those blubbery Blair Witch kids. A married couple who're clearly more attached to their cell phones than to each other, Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) set out on a hastily organized tropical vacation, where they agree to "do our own thing" on a scuba trip crowded with other tourists. That decision, compounded by some tension-building mishaps aboard the boat, leads to their being stranded with no land in sight. Though a few vessels are nearby, they're just slightly too far away to spot the bobbing duo, no matter how frantically the pair signal. It's quickly apparent that all Daniel and Susan can do is wait. And wait.

Not surprisingly, things both physical and psychological soon begin to happen. Frustration and fear alternate, as the pair shovel blame back and forth while grappling with nausea, the cold, jellyfish, and increasing shark paranoia. "I can't believe we paid these incompetent fuckers to drop us in the middle of the ocean!" Daniel yells out over the water, furious with himself, with Susan, with the dive shop that organized the trip, and with the utter ridiculousness of a 21st-century human (busy life, well-paying job, nice house) suddenly being left at the mercy of the ocean. While researching his script, Kentis, who was initially inspired by one particular real-life incident, realized the occurrence was rare but not totally uncommon. He fictionalized his characters and, not wanting to ruin anyone's tourist trade, kept the location ambiguous. But the emotions the film whips up are as honest and real as the sharks zipping around the actors, whose ability to convey panic cannot be questioned – even when the script occasionally fails them.

As Kentis pointed out, "There's a curiosity about sharks," which might be a bit of an understatement, considering sharks (OK, and crocodiles) rule the programming food chain at both the Discovery and Animal Planet channels. Plus, who doesn't love reciting Robert Shaw's lines from Jaws ("Thing about a shaaak, he's got lifeless eyes ... black eyes ... like a doll's eyes"), or rewinding the scene in Zombie where the zombie wrestles the shark, or singing that nonsensical LL Cool J song from Deep Blue Sea. Sharks fascinate the hell out of us. In that respect, Open Water's got it made.

Still, it remains to be seen whether the popcorn masses will make Open Water a Blair Witch-sized phenomenon. This Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook of as movie boasts a killer premise Hollywood no doubt wishes it had thought of first, but it also lacks the thunderous noise (and budget, and star power) of nature-has-no-mercy blockbusters like The Perfect Storm. But that's deliberate, and it makes for a unique film, one that mixes a gonzo approach to shooting sea life with a cautionary tale that feels like it could happen because it has happened. "The whole point was to experiment and push ourselves as filmmakers," Kentis said of the choices he and Lau made. And if sharks happen to play a part in the proceedings, so be it: "We just wanted to tell this true story the best way we could."

'Open Water' opens Fri/6 at Bay Area theaters. See Movie Clock, in film listings, for show times.