Review of Dead in the Water (2002) by Danielle S — 28 May 2008

As the movie opens, a young girl (Lolita's Dominique Swain) is preparing for a weekend of reckless abandon aboard her father's boat, along with her boyfriend (Scott Bairstow) and close pal (Henry Thomas).

The trio is forced to take in a fourth, though, when her father insists that the son of a business associate join them. After some harmless frolicking and flirting, the plot thickens when Swain and the swarthy stranger are caught kissing by Bairstow - who promptly proceeds to toss the poor sap overboard.

After much arguing and bickering - this is after they've sailed quite a distance from where the outsider hit the drink - the gang finally decides to head back and rescue the dude. But, not surprisingly, he's long gone at that point, with only his life preserver providing evidence that he was ever there.

This leads to even more arguing and bickering among the friends, as they try to figure out what happened to the guy and decide what to do next. What follows is a familiar game of "How do we get away with this?" with the girl at the center of innumerable plans that keep her out of trouble while setting up the other two (or worse, killing them off).

The film is well-made and reasonably well-acted, but the confines of that little boat get a little tiresome after 90 minutes. As well, the desperation makes sense, but the kids turn a little too easily to murder as their "only option" for getting out of the jam.