Is Open Water Scary? The Verdict and the Whole Plot
Yes, 5 out of 10. It's two people bobbing in open water, waiting for a boat that has other plans.
🐱THE SCARE SIGNAL
SCARE SCORE
5 /10
🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱
DREAD LEVEL
Medium
You'll look at any large body of water with suspicion for a night or two.
DOG
Dog: fine
fine, no dog dies.
Ruling: Don't watch it the week before a beach holiday, because most of it is two people treading water.
Open Water runs seventy-nine minutes, and most of them take place in the ocean with two scuba divers and no boat. Someone on the dive crew miscounts the passengers, and everything after that is a very long wait.
The premise, briefly
A couple on a scuba-diving vacation surface after a group dive to find that the boat has miscounted its passengers and left without them.
How much do you want to know?
🐱
The verdict above is spoiler-free. Everything below, including the ending, stays hidden until you pick a depth.
🐱CUT TO THE CHASE
How it ends
Daniel dies when sharks attack him during a night storm. Susan lets his body go, takes off her scuba gear and slips under the water while a search is under way. A fishing crew later finds a diving camera inside a shark.
The scene you're dreading
Sharks attack Daniel after dark during a storm, late in the movie. It is the scene where he dies, and it comes after the jellyfish stings and the earlier shark bites.
The dog
No dog dies in Open Water. The only animal death is a dead shark that appears during the credits.
Open Water is slow, bleak tension with a few shark moments, so knowing the plot mostly takes away the hope.
THE SHORT VERSION IS HIDDEN
How it ends, the scene you're dreading, what happens to the dog, and the bottom line. About twenty seconds to read.
What actually happens
A very thorough head count
Daniel Kintner and Susan Watkins book a scuba-diving vacation to spend more time together. On day two they sign up for a group dive, and underwater the two of them drift briefly away from everyone else. When the group heads back, the dive master miscounts, decides all the divers are aboard, and the boat leaves without them. Daniel and Susan surface to an empty sea. It slowly dawns on them that nobody is coming back for them soon, and they start to bicker.
Hunger and exhaustion set in, and the two realize they have probably drifted a long way from the dive site. They also notice that sharks have been circling below them. Jellyfish turn up and sting them both, and the sharks come closer. Susan gets a small bite on her leg without noticing. Daniel goes under and sees a small fish feeding on the wound. Later a shark bites Daniel and he bleeds heavily. Susan takes off her weight belt and presses it against his wound, but Daniel seems to go into shock.
A storm for atmosphere
This is the scene to brace for, and it comes late, after the bites and the shock. Night falls, sharks return, and during a storm they attack Daniel and kill him. The next morning a crew member on the dive boat notices Daniel and Susan's belongings still on board and works out that the couple must have been left out at sea. A huge search begins at once, though Susan is still out there.
The ending, explained
Susan realizes that Daniel is dead and lets go of his body, and sharks drag it down in a feeding frenzy. She puts her mask back on and looks down, where several large sharks are circling. She checks the water a final time for a rescuer, finds none, takes off her scuba gear and goes under. Some time later a fishing crew cuts open a freshly caught shark and finds a diving camera that is probably theirs. One fisherman wonders aloud whether it still works.
The post-credits ruling
A dead shark appears during the credits, but nobody has confirmed a separate scene after them.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Open Water scary?
Yes. Open Water is a 5 out of 10 with a medium dread level: slow, bleak tension about being stranded at sea, with sharks, jump scares and a little gore.
How does Open Water end?
Daniel dies in a shark attack during a night storm. Susan lets go of his body, takes off her scuba gear and goes under, and a fishing crew later finds a diving camera in a shark's stomach.
Does the dog die in Open Water?
No dog dies in Open Water. The only animal death is a dead shark during the credits.
Is there a post-credits scene in Open Water?
Nobody has confirmed whether Open Water has a scene after the credits. A dead shark does appear during them.
Why does the boat leave Daniel and Susan behind in Open Water?
The dive master miscounts and believes everyone is back on board. Daniel and Susan had briefly drifted away from the group, so they are still in the water when the boat leaves.
BLURRED FOR YOUR PROTECTION
The whole plot of Open Water is hidden, ending included. It stays that way until you ask.
You don't need to float around for seventy-nine minutes to find out how Open Water ends. Install Scaredy Cat and horror gets blurred before you see it.
