Director
Hans Horn
Cast
Susan May Pratt Amy
Richard Speight Jr James
Niklaus Lang Zach
Ali Hillis Lauren
Cameron Richardson Michelle
Eric Dane Dan
DVD Release Date: February 20, 2007
Rating: R
Running Time: 94 Minutes
The Movie
When I was ten years old, my family went on vacation and we stayed at this really nice hotel with a fantastic pool. I mean this pool made my eyes get so big that swimming was pretty much the only thing I did for an entire week. The pool was half inside and half outside with a wall in the middle that you could swim under to get from one side to the other. It was a long time ago but such a vivid memory that I can even tell you the wall was probably around four feet wide.
Well one morning I went swimming and when no-one was looking, I decided to give it a go and swim to the outside part of the pool. I went ahead and did so but came up too early. My head hit the bottom of the wall, I got disoriented and all turned around. Panic quickly set in and after what seemed like forever, I surfaced outside and never told anyone what happened. Open Water 2 brought this seventeen year old memory flooding back to me stronger then I ever thought imaginable.
Six friends get together for a fun vacation on a huge yacht that some wise investments helped him buy. They’ve all grown up a little in the many years they’ve known each other and even have a small baby going along with them on the fun trip. There is some tension on board as almost everyone has a more intimate history with someone else that has now gone sour. Dan, who owns the boat, used to go out with Amy; but now he’s got himself a skinny little blonde girl to keep his urges pleased. It’s of no real matter to Amy though as she is married to James and they have a beautiful baby girl named Sarah. Throw in Lauren and Zach who have always had a lover’s tension between them and you have a fun party boat.
It’s the middle of a gorgeous ocean so they all decide take a nice relaxing swim. All except for Amy who has some painful memories come flooding back thanks to some flashbacks. Dan decides to take it upon himself and introduce Amy back to the thrills of being in the water and jumps in, taking her with him. Not the smartest move for many reasons; with the biggest one being that he didn’t drop the ladder down before jumping in. Their worst fears quickly become truth as they realize there is no way for them to get back on board and not another boat in sight.
When Open Water came out back in 2003, I went and saw it in theatres and was impressed. It seemed as if it was filmed by a video camera and was given a very real feel to it. So when I started watching Adrift and saw it was filmed like any other movie, I started to get disappointed. That feeling quickly left as my interest in the movie piqued not long after it started.
You aren’t given much background on the characters, but it’s not needed because you still find yourself associating with them. The possibility of such a thing happening to anyone is very real and it’s not hard to imagine your own fear being much different then what is going on in the film. It starts with a bit of humor in thinking, “how could we do something so stupid?” The laughter quickly dissipates as fear sets in because you have no idea what to do. The fear is followed by seriousness as you try to think of any possible way to get out of this stupid situation. Throw in blame, helpfulness, optimism, and even turning on each other of sheer frustration and before you know it, the group has already been in the water for a few hours.
Adrift is not looking to be a thriller because how many thrills can you get from watching people float in the water for an hour and a half? It is not really looking to be a horror film either. Whatever you want to call, it does the job of providing so much tension that you hope at any second they’ll figure out some way to get back on the boat. Even though you can easily pick out the characters that you are intended to root for and those you don’t really care about, when it comes down to it you don’t want to see anyone die. It’s almost as if you’d be in the water yourself and have to see one of your close friends die. Creepy. Very creepy indeed.
The Video
The film is shown in 2.35:1 Widescreen Format and is beautiful. Before coming to the place where they swim, you are presented with some gorgeous shots of the ocean and the surrounding landscape. The underwater shots are done very well too and provide for some interesting visuals.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and this was quite possibly the most impressive feature on the entire DVD. Every crest of a wave, every drop of rain, and every sense of fear can be heard so perfectly. The best part was that just as in real life; whenever a character had their ears under water and they’re thoughts could be heard? Well, the thoughts were somewhat echoed as if you were underwater listening other sounds around you. Fantastic audio that made it feel even that much more real to me.
Special Features
Making Of Open Water 2 – The directors talk about how they came up with the story for the film and how it all came together. Filmed in Malta back in 2005, some great weather and beautiful scenery was provided by Mother Nature herself. It’s your basic “making of” featurette, but there are a lot of spoilers in it so I would highly recommend not watching it until after viewing the film.
Trailers – Man About Town, Open Water, Dead In The Water Conejo En La Luna, Peaceful Warrior
The Inside Pulse
If you are looking for a good film to truly get involved in and sincerely enjoy then even with the lack of extras, I recommend at least renting this DVD. The lack of special features does hurt the overall score, but doesn’t take away from the fantastic quality of a good film. For the ocean lovers out there though, Adrift may make you fear the water a lot more then JAWS ever could.
