Is this some elaborate prank?
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Kevinology_Rises — 13 years ago(February 08, 2013 03:45 PM)
I didn't like PA or BWP because they both had no decent characters or storytelling, and the dialogue was absolutely crap. This film didn't exactly have strong characters or story either, but the thing that makes it better is the scenario, which is a lot more realistic than the other two. I find it easier for myself and my imagination to become immersed in something like this as opposed to a "story" about witches or ghosts that's marketed as found footage.
Both PA and BWP rely entirely on the audience jumping at shadows, and their imagination. Trouble is, I'd have to think "Imagine if I were in that situation", which doesn't work, because if I actually was in that situation I'd probably be laughing. The whole ghost and witch nonsense is preposterous to me, I can't buy it when it's filmed with an almost documentary style approach and claimed to be true (in supernatural horrors that aren't marketed as found footage or a documentary, I can suspend disbelief easier). However, if I was stranded in open water with sharks circling my feet that's another matter, it's a very real threat and very chilling to think about.
"Can you fly, Bobby?" -
DeltonP — 11 years ago(August 01, 2014 10:28 PM)
I enjoyed all three of the "polarizing" movies being discussed here, but not equally.
The Blair Witch Project
9/10
Paranormal Activity
8/10
Open Water
6/10
After two viewings of this one when it was first released in 2004 and again this weekend I just didn't think it was as good as it could have been and didn't stick with me like the other two films did. -
ffp61 — 15 years ago(May 01, 2010 09:14 PM)
I just finished this movie and came here to read the trivia section, and I'm a little surprised about these "brain" and "think" arguments on this board. I had recorded it a while ago and actually just wanted to "get it over with" me so I can delete it, and I was tired anyway and wanted to doze off.
How surprised I was to find out that this movie kept me awake and left me with a funny feeling in my stomach. For me, it has nothing to do with using my brain, the story and camera work simply appealed to some of my darkest fears, obviously there is no need to overanalyze it, this is a simple movie with not much going on but the forgotten-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean plot, but it managed to convince me, to deliver the feeling of being lost, of not knowing what's going on beneath you, of being helpless - so yes, it made me think. Think what I would do, how long I would survive, if I was heroic or a coward, would I fight with the one who's with me in that situation, would I simply shut up and so on
I must say I'm glad I watched it, I liked it, it worked for me (even if I must say some of the conversation seemed a little out of place, but that might be due to the German dubbed version I was wathing)- but I don't have to (over)use my brains, it stimulated my imagination - and I'm still a little upset -
myhairsucks — 15 years ago(May 25, 2010 02:27 PM)
I really don't think the film needed more in terms of character or plot development - in fact I think it might have ruined it. This film isn't perfect, but it is unique, and brilliant study at what might happen if you were left in the middle of the ocean.
In all honesty, what would you rather? The whole film gear towards the couple, in a moment of sudden (and convenient) clarity, heroically fighting off every single shark in the vicinity and swimming to safety as they realize that is their only chance for survival? Perhaps some added drama halfway through as the girl suddenly reveals that she's had an affair with some other guy, and she has to survive this ordeal for the sake or her unborn child??
I'm sorry, but the plot and the characters in this film feel real, and that's what makes it a good film, and an engaging watch. That stuff I said before is either very unlikely to happen in real life or is just downright impossible - and so no, this film doesn't need added plot or character development. I forget whether or not it was based off a true story, but even if it isn't it's still the kind of event that could realistically happen to you on a diving holiday, and as a result does a much better job at making audiences feel like it's not safe to go in the water than Jaws ever did.
People liking this film is certainly not some elaborate prank, it just happens that some film-goers don't look for every single movie to be made from a Hollywood checklist.
"You fill your days with creating worlds which have meaning and order because ours doesn't." -
veilside_z — 15 years ago(September 03, 2010 05:53 AM)
I loved TBWP, that was scary. I thought PA was tedious and massively over-rated. I'm kind of indifferent to OW, it was alright, but even at 1 and 1/2 hours it seemed too long and the incompetence of the boat crew just got on my nerves.
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MsBungle — 15 years ago(May 29, 2010 08:42 AM)
First of all, Yyou really need to have a spoiler alert for your postPeople who have never seen this movie are going to have it ruined by your lack of a warning.
Second, since you had a reaction to it, it most likely is a good thing, whether it was positive or not. You keep questioning what other people are saying about it. Who gives a rat's ass what other people think about it? What do YOU think about it? Apparently you were "angry and insulted" which, though it may not sound positive to you, is a reaction nonetheless that seems yet to be worked out on your end. Please save your revelatory comments for those who have already seen the movie, either way. -
keith123300-1 — 15 years ago(May 29, 2010 06:59 PM)
This isn't a Hollywood film, it's a raw and realistic film.
The plot and character development that you say you were waiting for would have spoilt the film completely. To have any kind of elaborate storytelling would be a mistake for this film.
If you really got stranded in the ocean then this is what it would be like. To portray it any other way would be pointless. This sin't some cheap entertainment popcorn flick or even a thriller, it's a portrayal of sheer reality. -
sweavo — 15 years ago(June 10, 2010 06:35 AM)
But you do get character development. You see their relationship put through trials even though almost nothing happens on the screen, always two heads and a load of blue. You get the slow processing through all the emotions from idignation to blame, to anger, to despair, and the way the two people express their feelings towards one another; the way each reacts to their partner's danger and injuries. It's no masterpiece but I was impressed how much they managed to get into a movie essentially about floating about helpless.
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Moishar — 15 years ago(June 15, 2010 08:20 AM)
Hi,are you seriously angry&insulted or you are trying to be funny? No offense, from reading your post i can tell you are a very very superior being as well as a very smart person,but Susan did not DROWN herself,she was pulled downPoof Gone.She took off her floaters because she has given up&knew sooner or later she was going to die. Second,seriously,what do you want them to do?Cry&scream for the whole movie?If you want to watch something with more action&emotions,go watch Deep Blue Sea, for those sharks are very intelligent with micro-chips,just like how intelligent you are.
Ooops,pardon moi monsieur,i am a very stupid person to really get why you are insulted anyways. -
eru0527 — 11 years ago(May 17, 2014 08:31 AM)
Yeah she SPOILERS definitely drowned herself. Absolutely no question. She even took a huge clenching her body and holding her breath like one would do if they wanted to go under water/sink.
And I agree that this, Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity were good. It's not the best films ever made, but I think they are above the average/median movie I see.
These films, I won't call them "horror" because many people only call films that have many bloody deaths that (though that is actually a slasher), but these films that show you very little of the menace that is around you I find to be very much more effective than when you see the ghost/killer/whatever all the time. I mean I even think Cloverfield was an incredibly tense movie because of how it was filmed, though that was just suspense not "horror"
The Blair Witch did it best out of TBWP, Open Water and PA. And I'm not only talking about "found footage" style movies, I think any horror film should show very little direct shots of the horror terrorizing the characters. But if we exclude Open Water and talk only found footage I have to say I love that genre, because it's narration from one fixed point of view, very effective and also it gives a reason to let much happen just slightly off-screen. Which might be hard to have a reason for in a regularly styled film, like constantly barely missing to film the monster in Cloverfield or having the camera turned off when things happen in the blair witch.
I love it when high tension films do a slow-burn and not telling/showing 100 % of the story until it finally flames up. I'm mostly thinking about horror films but it worked very well in Cloverfield too. -
hottmale_____ — 15 years ago(June 19, 2010 06:48 PM)
Totally agree. Definitely up there as the worst film I've ever seen.
As for people moaning about spoilers.. there are no spoilers as nothing actually happens. The movie is garbage so if you've not seen it then don't bother!
Can't believe this is getting mentioned in the same breath as the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity which, lets be fair, are 2 of the best low-budget horror films ever made. Open Water is up there with the worst. -
ringram — 15 years ago(June 28, 2010 03:01 PM)
Well, I have to say I liked the film very much. The film is so simple yet holds interest and tension throughout. The end is pure pathos. So refreshingly un-Hollywood, shows that engaging thought provoking and entertaining films can be made on the tiniest budget.
I re-watched it with my girlfriend last night, she gets bored with films very rapidly (her comments on Avatar are unprintable!), she liked this film.
Those of you who don't like it aren't wrong, you just don't like it. Likewise, those of us that do like it are not wrong either
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robsea32 — 15 years ago(July 17, 2010 07:18 AM)
** SPOILER WARNING ***
I think everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion on this I'd just like to add my own 2 cents in comparing with the aforementioned films.
I've seen Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch Project, and Open Water. I found BW more grating than scary, although it picks up some steam towards the end. The ending was pretty scary. I only saw it twice, at home on VHS when I was 18 back in 2000 or so.
I saw Paranormal Activity in the theater and frankly found it quite laughable and ludicrous. Particularly annoying was the boyfriends obsession with filming the events happening even despite the risk to their lives and the obvious harm it was causing his girlfriend. Second only to that is the lazily orchestrated plot development of "the one person that can help you is out of town for an undisclosed amount of time, so you are better off staying put until they show up despite the incredible danger, because this thing uhhh.. could follow you?" Yeah that sounds good enough, put that in the script. I think perhaps if I had any fear or belief in ghosts that maybe it would have scared me more. Perhaps if I'd seen it in my creaky old house instead of a state of the art cineplex, I would have been afraid. I doubt it though, they brought too much attention to what made it so hard to suspend my disbelief and in the process, yanked me right out of the movie.
Open Water on the other hand, is terrifying to me pretty much the whole way through. Once those initial two boats vanish off the horizon and all that can be seen is miles of ocean and the occasional shark fin a sense of dread just grows in my stomach and eats away at me for the next hour.
I left Blair Witch a little disturbed, I left Paranormal Activity wishing I had my money back, but Open Water made me feel sick as I was leaving the theater and so glad to be alive when I stepped outside into the parking lot.
In it's defense I think the acting is a big part of what makes it so effective. In BW and PA, you have people screaming hysterically all the time, which to me is extremely unrealistic. To me, it's used as a cue to tell the audience "this part is scary, because it's very loud, you should get scared now". Besides, anyone who has cried or screamed for a long time realizes that all that makes one very tired and worn down. In Open Water, these characters subconsciously realize they have limited resources that are not able to be replenished; there is no food and no water that is drinkable.
In real life, when people are faced with only a glimmer of hope, they latch onto it like in Open Water. When that glimmer starts to fade, they ignore it for as long as they can. They talk about other things anything to distract them from the elephant in the room and that elephant is the realization that death is staring you in the face and that there is nothing you can do about it there is no way to fight it because there is no enemy to fight, all you have is time, just waiting to die. I think a lot of movies would portray accepting death through teary eyed hospital bed monologues, but sometimes death doesn't strike you comfortably in bed, sometimes it gets you out in the middle of nowhere, exhausted, irritated, hungry, and hopeless.