Dangerous Waters

Director: John Barr
Screenplay: Mark Jackson
Starring: Odeya Rush, Eric Dane, Saffron Burrows, Ray Liotta
Country: USA
Running Time: 101 min
Year: 2023
BBFC Certificate: 15

Sea-fearing teen Rose (Rush) semi-reluctantly joins her mother Alma (Burrows) for a 10-day birthday vacation aboard the boat of Alma’s new boyfriend, ex-policeman Derek (Dane). Everything seems to be going fine, until the boat is set upon by thieves leaving Rose fighting for survival and vengeance.

It’s rarely a good sign when a film immediately begins with a trite cliché, and it’s hard to get more hackneyed than the post-action authority interrogation of a weathered, traumatised protagonist, culminating in the phrase “Let’s start from the beginning” before cutting to an earlier, pre-action sequence, but don’t let that put you off Dangerous Waters. This is a mostly tight thriller with good performances and plot developments that are well worth sticking around to experience.

Odeya Rush gives a committed and believably physical performance as someone stuck in a truly desperate situation, and as the role becomes increasingly demanding as the film progresses she proves more than up for the challenge of portraying such hardships – there’s nothing she won’t beat with a spanner! Rush is ably supported by Eric Dane and Saffron Burrows, one playing more against type than the other, and as one of the world’s foremost fans of Deep Blue Sea (not an exaggeration) it was great seeing Burrows back on the water again, albeit with a far less formal character than Dr. Susan McCallister. Ray Liotta tragically passed away during the production of the film, and the narrative suffers from his role being reduced, but the moments he’s on screen he absolutely shines, bringing a seductive menace to his character of The Captain. His trademark cackle cannot fail to brighten my day.

As glorious as the third act of Dangerous Waters may be, it doesn’t hold together coherently with the rest of the film, and there are some sections that feel superfluous and time-filling, uneventful diversions offering little more than a change of scenery, an unprovoked exposition dump and some truly terrible character decisions. However, I still enjoyed myself throughout, despite the disappointing lack of any shark-shaped threats that really should have been present given the numerous occasions when there’s quite a lot of blood in the water.

Dangerous Waters is available digitally on October 13th from Signature Entertainment.