The imprudence of some young accidentally cause someone's death. Except it didn't happen last summer. A couple (boy and girl) go to a trip with two other horny males. Guess what? Of course, the other guys want the pretty girl and that provokes lots of fights. Thought we couldn't know it from the get go, Gloria shows how naughty she is. The extra actors are all lame and probably Brazilian; I don't think our country has only bad actors, but unfortunately, they are the majority. Directing, soundtrack and filmography of "Dead in the Water" are all terrible and amateurish. What really saves the film is the plot; the writer made a good job with the story, entertaining with a mysterious atmosphere to only reveal the real characters in the end. Some things end up unanswered, but, through the development of the characters and their behaviors, we get all of it. It's a shame they didn't invest in this film, producing it with so low- budget; I really hope (but doubt) they remake it with a decent director and budget...

In Rio de Janeiro, Gloria (Dominique Swain) is an ambitious young woman, whose father (José WIlker) is bankrupted. When the son of his business partner, Marcos (Sebastian DeVicente), arrives in Rio, her father asks Gloria to have a trip with him in their boat Boa Vida. Gloria, her boyfriend Danny (Scott Bairstow) and their common friend Jeff (Henry Thomas) get Marcos in his hotel and they go to Angra dos Reis. While in the sea, they drink Caipirinha and beer, and Gloria flirts with the wealthy Marcos. The jealous Danny sees they kissing each other, throws Marcos in the water with a lifebuoy and drives the boat to a distant island to scare Marcos. However, they have a problem with the propellers and when they return to the spot, they do not find Marcos anymore. Afraid of the consequences of his possible drowning, they discuss alibis and how to resolve the situation, shattering their relationship in an environment of high-tension and selfishness."Dead in the Water" is an amoral tale of ambition, selfishness and greed based on three shallow characters: Gloria is an ambitious and amoral young woman, having the behavior of a slut and capable of teasing three young men looking for the best one to support her; Danny is a loser posing of executive but incapable of taking reasonable attitudes or decisions; and Jeff, who stays close to Gloria and Danny not for friendship or loyalty, but because he wants to stay with Gloria. The final twist is very ironical and suitable for this reasonable film. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Tensão em Alto-Mar" ("Tension on the High Seas")

A lot of movies based in 1 particular place, can sometimes lose it's path and get boring like Open Water, but this movie with it's talented young cast of Henry Thomas, and the gorgeous looks of Dominique Swain kinda carried it off! the film once or twice needed something to pick it up abit more from feeling too quiet & , un-atmospheric, for a thriller! but with some better direction, this could've been a hit, more intensity, more of a cutting edge, it could've been a nail-biter, but in the end, it's predictable, BUT! with a sweet touch at the end which makes you feel like, it was all for nothing, if only if people were more honest, and youngsters didn't act quite so dull. maybe worth renting first before buying, but if you find it cheap, give it a go.

*** SPOILER WARNING -- READER BEWARE ***I rather enjoyed this movie. I agree with those who've said that the first 30 minutes of the film are expendable. The real fun is in the last hour. Now I would have ended it differently myself, swapping the fates of Marcos and Gloria, with Marcos drowning for real and Gloria getting rescued. A little more Neil LaBute and a little less Rod Serling. I think it would have been interesting to look in Gloria's eyes as she climbed on the chopper and settled in. Would we have seen any remorse flit across her face as she realized that she's actually going to have to face society with these three lives on her mind?There are ways to make a bad-guys-get-what's-coming-to-'em kind of film, but this one struck me as a little pedestrian. I found the acting convincing as the tension on the boat built up. Henry Thomas has managed to keep both his acting skills and his body in shape. Bairstow and Swain are still just shy of making it really big, and I think clips of this film will help them in the long run. Overall, I'm saying 6 outta 10.