Open Water 2: Adrift is the Sequel to the
Popular Independent Hit
Open Water 2: Adrift relies on
multiple characters and budget instead of the pure psychology of terror
of the original. I tried not to compare.
Written by
BHM Editor Don
Sumner February 22, 2007
Release:
2006
Directed by: Hans Horn
Written by: Adam Kreutner, Collin McMahon, David Mitchell and
Richard Speight Jr.
Starring:
Susan May Pratt as Amy
Richard Speight Jr. as James
Niklaus Lange as Zach
Ali Hillis as Lauren
Cameron Richardson as Michelle
Eric Dane as Dan
The original Open Water came seemingly out of
nowhere to gain popularity and a large following. Created for a mere
$130K the original followed the actions and psychological deterioration
of two people accidentally left alone in the middle of the ocean.
Open Water 2: Adrift follows the same concept but
takes it a few steps further.
A group of high school friends meet in Mexico for a wonderful vacation
traveling the sea on a beautiful party yacht. After a bit of character
development and learning the “surface stories” of
the players they all decide to go swimming. Nobody
thought to lower the ladder that would allow them to get back onboard
the boat…and they are trapped in the water.
After several hours in the water it becomes clear to all that death is
in their future, frustrated by the fact that their salvation is a mere
6 feet up at the edge of the deck.
The
psychological elements of impending doom play heavily in Open
Water 2 just as they did in the original Open Water.
There are many additional elements too. For starters the sequel does
not have just two people alone but six, and so the interaction and
instincts for self-preservation add a twist.
Mistakes are made, alliances formed (and later dissolved) and secrets
revealed.
German director Hans Horn clearly wanted to focus more on the dark
side of human nature than the panic of a life threatening
situation. Since this is essentially Horn’s directorial debut
(he was the assistant director for a few films and did a few shorts
previously) the ability to have the actors dig deep for a performance
is a good thing to demonstrate. In that regard Open Water 2
is a smashing success.
The
interaction between the “stranded” friends and the
fear that they display as their stay in the water drags on is the
source of the impact and effectiveness of Open Water 2: Adrift.
There are no apparent villains, no outward threat…other than
the fact that they will surely die at some point if
they stay where they are. Compounding the issue are the hidden
personality elements that come out in each of the swimmers when they
begin to turn on each other.
Open Water 2 had me squirming in my seat, yelling at
the characters when they do something stupid that further seals
their fate and offering suggestions as to what they should
try next to get back onboard their “party yacht. At the end
of the movie I was utterly exhausted.
While
the additional characters in Open Water 2 add
elements of the worst in human nature coming out to play, I have a bit
of trouble avoiding the comparison to the original Open Water.
Yes, I know…I often encourage people to get over the urge to
compare when watching a sequel or a remake…but
I’m only human. The power of the original was that
the scares were completely psychological – even the attacks
by various sea creatures were not tackled dead-on through
fierce-looking mechanical sharks (ala Jaws) but just implied by the
shrieks of “something bit me!” and the trail of
blood through the water. In the sequel much of the dependence on pure
psychological terror was transferred to the character interactions and
the surrounding environment. This seemed to dilute the impact a bit.
Comparisons aside, Open
Water 2 is disturbing. I watched the movie with some other
folks, and as the credits rolled there were several side conversations
with statements such as “see, that’s why I never go
on a boat without a life jacket”, “I
won’t swim at all in the open ocean” and
“if I ever go swimming from a yacht I will ENTER the water by
the ladder so I can make sure there IS one”. This illustrates
to me that Open Water 2 indeed has an effect. I’m sure that
is exactly what director Hans Horn had in mind. Questions
or comments about Open Water 2: Adrift? Contact us!
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