Open water 3 cage dive review năm 2024

The movie that divers detest above all others, Open Water, a story of folks left by their dive-boat to float around with the sharks, was made on a modest budget of US $120,000 back in 2003. It went on to gross $55 million worldwide.

Check out more at 20 titles for divers streaming on Netflix.

THE RECENT 47 METRES DOWN, a story of shark cage-diving gone mind-bogglingly wrong, cost rather more at around $5.5 million but has already grossed $673 million.

That’s investments multiplied by 460 and 122 respectively, thank you very much, cinema-goers.

There’s money to be made from sharky disasters that get a general cinema release, and the lower the budget the better. Cage Dive, however, might just be a step too far.

You really couldn’t get any more low-budget than Cage Dive (which is sold as Open Water 3: Cage Dive in the USA).

It brazenly embraces cheapness by shooting almost the entire 80-minute film on a handheld camera, based on the premise that the three first-time cage-divers are recording everything they do on their holidays for a TV reality show audition tape.

Their broken camcorder is found by a diver with its memory card intact at the start of the film, and for the rest of the proceedings we have to follow its shaky contents towards their inevitable end.

Here is the studio synopis, and note the key words here: “In this intense thriller, three friends from California head to the rugged Australian coast for a cage-dive encounter with deadly great white sharks. But after attracting a swarm of vicious sharks, their tour boat is destroyed by a massive rogue wave.

“As clouds gather and darkness descends, the three friends find themselves alone and defenceless, afloat in the chilly ocean as hungry man-eaters begin to circle. With little hope of rescue, they must fight to survive using only their courage.”

Deadly, swarm, vicious, hungry man-eaters – these are words that might still cheer sections of the public but will cause any diver to approach this film with teeth bared, and I was no exception.

The characters, two men and a woman with all the romantic complications you might expect with such a grouping, mug endlessly and irritatingly for the camera, even when they’re in the shark-cage.

The sound is all over the place (but of course, it’s meant to be), and the sharks in open water have been edited-in not entirely convincingly.

To be fair, however, the chaotic hand-held, eye-level format does suit the subject matter.

My favourite moment occurs near the start of Cage Dive. It lasts only a couple of seconds, but consists of a supposed news bulletin showing a toy boat being neatly overturned by a perfectly formed wave.

If this was a knowing homage to the sort of special effects employed in the early days of film, I salute the film-makers.

My second favourite moment was when the end-credits started rolling. To say I hated the film would be to overstate it – it was mercifully short; as actors, Joel Hogan, Josh Potthoff and Megan Peta Hill were OK (perhaps they were just being themselves); and I was entertained in a perverse, nit-picking sort of way.

But I couldn’t in all conscience recommend such an exploitative film to a diving audience. With its low overheads one might expect the film-makers at least to recoup their costs.

The “Open Water” films aren’t linked narratively, but they share a common premise: People accidentally get dumped in shark-infested waters and try to survive. To mix things up a little, “Open Water 3: Cage Dive” (2017) is a “found footage” movie.

Not all wet

An opening title card intimates that this is true found footage and warns viewers of its graphic nature. (The first film actually was based on a true story; the sequels are not.) If this had come out just ahead of “The Blair Witch Project” in 1999, it might be a classic. Since it came out 18 years later, it’s just another faux-found footage movie.

But not a terrible one – although there are as many LOL moments as there are awesome shark attacks. Two California dude-bros and a chick who looks hot in a bikini are stranded in the ocean when a rogue wave tips their boat over. (This is one of the LOL moments, mainly for the TV footage at the movie’s start. Maybe it was supposed to be a re-creation rather than an actual overhead shot, but it’s still hilarious.)

“Open Water 3: Cage Dive” (2017)

Director: Gerald Rascionato

Writers: Gerald Rascionato (screenplay, story), Stephen Lister (story)

Stars: Joel Hogan, Josh Potthoff, Megan Peta Hill

On Tuesdays this summer, Reviews from My Couch is highlighting classic (and not so classic) shark horror films through the years.

Probably owing to the low budget (but made plausible in that we’re limited to the handheld camera footage), we don’t see what happens to the boat. Because they are in an underwater cage when the wave strikes, the trio survives.

Writer-director Gerald Rascionato spends more time on characterization than most found-footage films. Jeff (Joel Hogan), Josh (Josh Potthoff) and Megan (Megan Peta Hill) are shooting their whole Australian vacation for an audition tape for a reality show. Probably “The Real World” or “Big Brother” — something like that. A cousin in Sydney and recommends the shark-dive off the Adelaide coast.

Triangle of terror

They’re in a love triangle, although Jeff doesn’t know this. There’s a little more to them than their initial immature sketches of two mansplainers and a woman who seems like she requires the mansplaining. The relationship drama is always a little amusing, though, and the worst acting comes when they basically play out a “Big Brother” clash after a day of floating in the ocean.

When they are being “natural,” the actors are good. Also, a shout-out goes to that Aussie cousin, Greg (Pete Valley). He’s interviewed after seeing the footage, and Valley’s expression of mixed horror and reflection is spot-on.

“Cage Dive” isn’t dread-infused like the original “Open Water” and “The Reef.” It leans toward the fun, cheesy brand of shark horror. As such, a rating comes down to silly moments versus awesome moments. We get a couple great shark-attack scenes and one nice gore effect. But the silly moments are accidentally entertaining in their own way, notably the scene with the flare gun on the raft.

(Also, here’s a rare bonus point for a shark movie: The soundtrack of indie pop is quite good, and not as out of place as you’d assume.)

Ultimately, “Open Water 3: Cage Dive” argues against the theory that God looks out for stupid people. Look, no one deserves to get eaten by sharks just for being dumb, but … Well, let’s just say that even the sharks are probably shaking their snouts in disbelief underwater.

Is open water 3 cage dive real?

The film is presented as a mockumentary and perpetuated as true events; though most of the film is first person footage from the characters with time stamps throughout the film, in the vein of Paranormal Activity.

Is Open Water 3 worth watching?

Some reviews have compared this with "The Shallows" and while this movie is different in many ways it was refreshing that the sharks weren't single-minded in their efforts to get their prey. This movie doesn't pretend to be a masterpiece but certainly has some good moments and is worth a viewing.

Is Open Water Based on a true story?

The film is loosely based on the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who in 1998 went out with a scuba diving group, Outer Edge Dive Company, on the Great Barrier Reef, and were accidentally left behind because the dive-boat crew failed to take an accurate headcount.

Why is open water rated R?

OPEN WATER, however, contains explicit nudity and strong language. At one point of desperation, a character utters part of the Lord's Prayer, but this seems like weak lip-service to the subject of faith.