"Dangerous Waters" stays afloat from a strong Odeya Rush and competent thrills

Dangerous Waters (2023)

“Dangerous Waters” is such a bland throwaway title that it undercuts what turns out to be a reasonably tense if boilerplate survival thriller. It’s also a sufficiently absorbing showcase for Odeya Rush, a Mila Kunis-lookalike who plays a resourceful, fully capable teenager rather than a helpless damsel in distress. 

Florida teen Rose (Rush) is dreading a ten-day vacation with her widowed waitress mom Alma (Saffron Burrows) and her new boyfriend Derek (Eric Dane), a handsome and charming former cop who works in private security. Bound for Bermuda, they set sail on Derek’s yacht. When Derek isn’t romancing Alma and getting into Rose’s good graces, he’s also teaching Rose some sailing tips (that will come in handy later) when she isn’t finding assault rifles below deck. Luckily, Rose knows how to shoot, and she’s a lover of action movies, but little does she know that she’ll have to put all of her skills to the test when a bunch of armed thugs climb aboard. 

At its best, director John Barr’s straightforward thriller recalls “Dead Calm”—that unsettling 1989 open-water suspenser with Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, and Billy Zane—even though you won’t need a compass to know where it’s going. Mark Jackson’s screenplay is surprisingly economical in setting up Rose and Alma’s situation and dynamic, and it’s enough to make us care. Rush and Burrows also help with their natural chemistry, and Eric Dane, as dashing as he is untrustworthy, appears to be having some hammy fun the more the film goes on. Read the full review at GuyAtTheMovies.com

Grade: C +

Brainstorm Media released “Dangerous Waters” (101 min.) in theaters and on demand on October 13, 2023.