Open Water
2003’sOpen Watershark movie is based on genuine events surrounding the fade of an American brace scuba diving in the shark - infested waters around the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland , Australia . The flick was write and manoeuvre by Chris Kentis , and produced by Kentis ' wife Laura Lau — both zealous divers . The couple shot the film over the duo of two years , and they funded the project with $ 130,000 of their own money . The movie became a sleeper hit , upend the Killer Shark genre , and go on to earn over $ 54 million worldwide .
TheOpen Watershark movie tells the terrific story of a twain , Daniel Kintner ( Daniel Travis ) and Susan Watkins ( Blanchard Ryan ) , who go on a diving expedition and determine themselves run aground 20 miles offshore . What makesOpen Watera dissimilar case of killer shark movie than say , The MegfranchiseorDeep Blue Sea , is that it ’s ground on a torturous true tale — albeit with a few necessary tweak to make it make for the big projection screen . The film was so successful that an initially unrelated picture show was revise during production to becometheOpen Watersequel , Open Water 2 : Adrift .
Ever since Spielberg ’s seminal blockbuster , Hollywood has been eager to cash in in on the killer shark fury . Here are the 15 best alternating examples .
Open Water Is Based On Tom & Eileen Lonergan Scuba Diving Mishap
Tom & Eileen Were Accidentally Left Behind While Scuba Diving On Vacation
At first , the couple believes their absence seizure will be noticed , but as the hours wear thin on , their situation ’s coarse world begins to sink in .
Open Waterfocuses on fictional holidaymakers Daniel and Susan , but their story is based on a real - life catastrophe that befell Tom and Eileen Lonergan . During a holiday at an undisclosed location in theOpen Watershark motion-picture show , Susan and Daniel embark on a scuba diving trip and stray from the grouping . They resurface to discover the tour boat has left them behind after a penis of the crew performs an inaccurate head count . At first , the distich believes their absence will be noticed , but as the hours wear on , their situation ’s abrasive reality begins to sink in . Unfortunately , this nightmare scenario is one hypothesis for what befall to Tom and Eileen Lonergan .
Of course , Open Waterdoes embellish some details sinceexactly what pass off to the Lonergans still is n’t known . TheOpen Watermovie ’s most frightening moments are derived from the comportment of multiple numbers of sharks that Susan and Daniel are powerless to stand off . Eventually , Daniel is sting , and at some tip during the night , he dies either of blood line loss or stupor . Susan releases Daniel and watches his body get ravaged by the piranha . Realizing she ’s going to fail , Susan take her gear and sump beneath the aerofoil . However , while it ’s possible Tom and Eileen Lonergan met their end at the hands of multiple shark , the trueOpen Waterstory is actually part of a whodunit .
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon
Open Water Is Also Based On A Novel
The Sequel Was A Short Story Adaptation
Unlike theOpen Watershark movie that was inspire by real upshot , the 2006 sequelOpen H2O 2 : Adriftis an adaptation of a short narrative — a story that is n’t at all connect to the disappearing of Tom and Eileen Lonergan . Since the secondOpen Watermovie was marketed with the tagline"BASED ON honest EVENTS",many viewers believed it was also derived from a real - life case of a shark approach like the firstOpen Water . The inadequate story that inspiredOpen water system 2 : Adriftis entirely fictitious though .
The " straight event " behindthe secondOpen Waterwere write by Japanese source Koji Suzuki , the author of the novel accommodate into 1991’sThe Ring ( Ringu ) . The short floor , Adrift , was part of the 1996 collectionDark Water , which also arrest the short story eventually adapted into the 2005 movie of the same name . Interestingly , Open Water 2 : Adriftwas originally intended to be a straightforward adaptation of the Koji Suzkui tale alone unrelated to the firstOpen Watermovie . It was thanks toOpen Water’ssuccess that the follow - up became attached as part of the same dealership , as this was the only elbow room studio would option the tarradiddle .
Shark movie The Black Demon beats Prime Video ’s major releases , scoring the No . 1 cyclosis spot since its unveiling on the political program last week .
Open Water is a survival horror film directed by Chris Kentis, based on the true story of an American couple abandoned at sea by a scuba diving crew. Starring Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, the film depicts their harrowing ordeal as they struggle against nature and hunger in the open ocean. The minimalist filming style enhances the film’s tension and realism.
Were The Real Tom & Eileen Lonergan Attacked By Sharks? The Couple’s Deaths Explained
Their Specific Cause Of Death Is A Matter Of Speculation
In the weeks following the brace ’s disappearing , pieces of their scuba equipment washed up on a deserted beach , and while there was damage , it was attributed to coral and not an beast attack .
Tom and Eileen Lonergan disappear in January 1998 during an expedition track down by Outer Edge Dive to the lip of the Great Barrier Reef 40 mi offshore Port Douglas , Queensland . As in the film , Tom and Eileen choke off on their own and resurface late . It adopt two days for the gravy holder ’s skipper to cover the couple ’s disappearance — in the film , the incident is report the next sunrise — leading to a week - long search , but their bodies were never found . In the weeks following the twosome ’s disappearing , pieces of their scuba equipment washed up on a deserted beach , and while there was damage , it was attributed to coral and not an animal attack .
According to a 2004 article in theNew York Times , some people believed the Lonergan ’s faked their deaths , a conspiracy theory authorities debunk . Journals found among the Lonergan ’s personal belongings paint Tom as a man with a"death wish . “This go to speculation thatTom may have killed Eileen and then himself . Eileen ’s father , John Hains , believe Tom and Eileen became desiccate and disoriented , which would have led them to pour forth their suits and equipment , resulting in decease by drowning or sharks . While there ’s no way of knowing with foregone conclusion what go on to Tom and Eileen Lonergan , the mystery story was more than enough to be the veridical events that inspiredOpen Water .
Why It Took The Boat Crew So Long To Discover Tom & Eileen Lonergan Were Missing
The Diving Crew’s Negligence Led To The Lonergan’s Deaths
Remarkably , nobody on the sauceboat , including the passengers or the crew , head out that Tom and Eileen were missing when the boat departed and fundamentally left them for dead . It took two days for the incident to be cover to authorities , which was another blinding stumble and act of nonperformance on the part of the diving event faculty . Those two days could have been the difference between life and death for Tom and Eileen . There was no clear explanation ever give by the diving work party about how they could have been so fumbling and forgotten that two of their client went drop .
How Tom & Eileen Lonergan’s Disappearance & Deaths Changed Diving In Australia
New Safety Protocols Were Immediately Enforced
As a result of the tragedy of Tom and Eileen ’s disappearance and assume demise , stricter regulations were put in place for the dive diligence of Queensland . Of course , the biggest effect of their tragedy was the 2003 movieOpen Water , which has become an iconic staple of the killer shark musical style ever since it was released in theaters . The movie pick up a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a scotch of 71 % and at the very least gave Tom and Eileen ’s story a political program even if its primary purpose was for amusement purpose . Open Wateris a astute reminder that even some of the most terrifying pic can be based on real - life experience .
Meg 2 : The Trench uses a few cardinal reveals to set up the franchise ’s futurity , and it mean Meg 3 will be even bigger than Jason Statham vs jumbo sharks .
Are Any Shark Movies Based On True Stories?
Open Water Isn’t The Only Film About Sharks With Real-Life Inspirations
Sharks have been central to the story of many of the best survival picture show . While many , such asDeep Blue Seaor the more recentUnder Paris , are entirely fabricated , many others have taken the same glide path asOpen Waterand been based on true story and real events . Most of these take many creative autonomy ( just asOpen Waterdid ) , but this does n’t make them any less intense , thrilling , or capable of inspiring a fear of the open ocean among watcher .
For example , one shark film based on real events likeOpen Wateris 2010’sThe Reef , which is coincidently also prepare in Australia . The news report ofThe Reeffocuses on a group of friends on a sailing misstep to Indonesia who , after their watercraft capsizes , find themselves stalk by thirsty sharks . The Reefis broadly based on the true account of prawn dragger Ray Boundy and shipmates in 1983 . Boundy was the exclusive survivor of the incident . However , similarly to the typeface of the Lonergan ’s andOpen Water , The Reefchanged the bulk of the event of the true write up to make a compelling and tense narrative .
Of all the shark film based on a unfeigned news report out there , Jawsis perhaps the one that has the loose interpretation of the literal - sprightliness consequence that inspired it , especially when compared toOpen H2O .
Another shark movie based on a true fib is 2011’sSoul Surfer , from conductor Sean McNamara . Soul Surferportrays events much nigher to the Sojourner Truth than the likes ofThe ReefandOpen Water , however , and the shark onslaught itself is n’t actually the main nidus of the plot of ground . The moving picture is establish on the memoir of Bethany Hamilton who , at aged 13 , miss her arm after being attack by a Panthera tigris shark while surfing . Much like the memoir it ’s based onSoul Surferis more about overcoming the psychic trauma of the attack than it is about Bethany ’s encounter with the shark itself , though TV audience seek a shark motion-picture show with a little more realism thanOpen Waterare indisputable to find it satisfying .
The final entry of note that many spectator discover surprising is the legendary and definitive shark attack movie , Steven Spielberg ’s 1975 epicJaws . WhileJawsis an adapation of a noveland , for the most part , fictional , the events were inspired by a alike incident in 1916 . However , of all the shark movies based on a genuine story out there , Jawsis perhaps the one that has the loosest interpretation of the real - life story result that inspired it , particularly when compare toOpen Water .
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Cast
Open Water is a selection repugnance film direct by Chris Kentis , base on the true tale of an American span abandoned at ocean by a scuba diving event crew . star Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis , the film limn their harrowing ordeal as they struggle against nature and thirstiness in the open sea . The minimalist filming style enhance the motion picture ’s tensity and naive realism .
