As the last humid, hot stretch of summer arrives, frustrated and overheated guys and gals might consider a quickie August vacation. Why not hit the beaches? Sun, sand, and water...it's a perfect recipe for frazzled nerves and anxious minds.

Before you pack the bathing suit, however, I suggest you see Chris Kentis' marvelous new scarefest, OPEN WATER...and then head for the mountains instead. Surprisingly powerful, moving, and squirm-inducing, this unusually smart drama rides old fears and new technology to astonishing cinematic heights. Capturing aquatic terror better than any film in my lifetime -- and that includes the granddaddy of the genre, Jaws -- this small-budgeted wonder is the summer's most seductive collection of frights. Enormously entertaining, sharply conceived, OPEN WATER may ruin your vacation plans, but will certainly satisfy your urge for popcorn thrills.

Based on real-life stories of divers left adrift at sea, OPEN WATER is a late-arriving dark horse in the summer blockbuster race...and we can all be glad it came along. Shot on digital video with a minimal budget, the film will almost certainly be compared to the last major horror phenomenon, 1999's The Blair Witch Project, and not only because of the scrappy cinematography and buzz potential they share. OPEN WATER also fully understands, like its predecessor, the devastating fear of the unknown and the frailty of abandoned human beings -- the foreboding mystery that lurked in Blair Witch's forest, it seems, has taken up residence underneath the endless waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Essentially, both films are chamber dramas set against the imposing, vast canvases of our environment. Where Blair Witch, however, depended on its amateurish aesthetic and jokey premise, OPEN WATER features a frighteningly plausible story, assured filmmaking, and a complex sense of psychological terror that will satisfy schlock-horror audiences...and those who prefer a little more intricacy in their entertainments.

The grungy fuzz of digital video actually helps OPEN WATER in many ways. Imbued with the tremulous grit of the medium, the muted colors and stripped-down sensibilities suggest a reality just outside our own. The camera magnificently captures the overwhelming immensity of the ocean, and lets Mother Nature do most of the yeoman's work in scaring the beejeezus out of us. The OPEN WATER of the title is reaaallly open; it has an infinite wideness that makes one feel incredibly small and futile, helpless. In the expert hands of director Kentis and producer Laura Lau (who both did double duty as cinematographers), the water gains a black, metallic sheen to its surface, an impenetrable darkening that hides untold terrors below its deceptively lapping tides. The water really becomes another character, a terrifying liquid expanse that is as intimidating in its power as it is impossible to cross.

After a predictable exposition, the film picks up momentum on the open sea. All too soon, we discover what terrors Mother Nature has in mind for our stranded young couple, Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis): storms, seas...and sharks. Most horror movies use theatrical tricks to cue the viewer when it is time to be scared (spooky music, quick flashes in the shadows, garish violence). However, these tricks also let the audience know, at least subconsciously, that everything they're seeing is pure fantasy; there's a calculated scream-to-giggle ratio at work when Freddy Kruger slashes his way down Elm Street. It couldn't actually happen, and we know it. Even in films like Jaws, we are ultimately protected from true fear by our knowledge that the giant white shark isn't real.

In OPEN WATER, all bets are off; the dynamic is completely uprooted. For in those blackened waters, those are actual sharks circling Susan and Daniel; you know it, you can see it, and even as your mind tries to justify to itself that, yes, it's only a movie, the stark truth of what's happening disconnects our ability to compartmentalize. OPEN WATER is terrifying not because of special effects or camera tricks, but through the inescapable reality of these terrifying predators. Shark pop-mythology only enhances each moment; although I'm certain shark experts were on hand (they had to be, right?), it dazzled me that the performers were actually being bumped and threatened by real live animals. It is as if Freddy Kruger sat down in the movie theatre next to you and pulled out his knives.

The filmmakers' remarkable storytelling is not lost amidst the terrors of the deep; what emerges by the end of OPEN WATER is a glimpse into the psychological struggle that occurs when faced with unwinnable odds. As Susan and Daniel run the gamut of desperate ideas and conflicted emotions, palpable terror informs their every choice. Genuinely surprising twists and turns occur, riveting one's attention to the screen -- the final scenes are as unexpected and as powerful as in any movie this year. Whereas The Blair Witch Project exploited its characters' torment, OPEN WATER instead gives the ramifications of the situation a welcome respect and depth. It is, dare I say, a scarefest with feeling.

Having clearly defied the odds and risen from independent film obscurity to a national release, OPEN WATER deserves attention. It is hard to imagine a filmgoer who wouldn't enjoy Kentis' accomplished effort. Whether a fan of quality drama or summertime fun, OPEN WATER is the perfect vacation from a megaplex full of mediocrity. Plus, inside a movie theater (which are almost always well air conditioned, mind you), sharks can't swim in the aisles. Can they?

-- Gabriel Shanks