It’s the execution that matters in thrillers, and Dangerous Waters is one film that dwindles a lot in that department. Directed by John Barr, the film is one of the last performances by Ray Liotta, and this movie is dedicated to his memory. Besides that, the interesting part about this movie is that there is a lot of emphasis on grit and survival in the plot. The whole film screams of being a low-budget cult film, but there just isn’t that ‘x factor’ present to make it so. Odeya Rush, Eric Dane, and Saffron Burrows are good performers who understand the tone of the film, and they are cast quite brilliantly, but the structure and believability of the scenario of the film don’t do justice to the otherwise decent thriller.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
Rose is skeptical, but as it is her mother’s fortieth birthday, she agrees to go with her to meet Alma’s new boyfriend on a boat trip. Alma is a carefree young woman who seems to have seen a lot in life and was disappointed by a lot of men, which is why she ended up being a single mother. Now she was with Rose, who was doing a dead-end job in a hotel, which irritated her a bit too much. Alma was looking for a companion, and in came Derek, who seemed to have all his stuff together. Alma was looking forward to Rose accepting the relationship, as that could mean that a lot of things would change in their lives. Derek seemed to be a wealthy man, given that he had the luxury of taking Alma and Rose on a 10-day boat trip. Rose didn’t like the idea too much, but she agreed after seeing her mother’s situation. Rose didn’t want Alma’s potential mate to get too irked by the ‘stubborn daughter’. She should have put her foot down and stopped Alma from seeing Derek, as the trip soon turned into a nightmare.
How Did Alma Die?
Alma was so thrilled to be spending her birthday on the water that she didn’t see the red flags. Rose noticed that Derek had an assault rifle hidden on his boat. She brought the topic up, and Derek told her that he used to be a cop, and that the weapon was there for his work. There were doubts popping up in Rose’s mind as to her and Alma’s safety, but Derek had given her a knife to cut the knots on the boat and gained her trust. In the thick of the night, Derek’s boat was attacked by a crew of thugs who seemed to know Derek’s location. Their leader shot and killed Alma, while Derek was shot in the arm as he fell into the water. Rose was almost found, but she managed to stay hidden, witnessing the tragedy unfold. Alma begged her to stay hidden before getting killed, and Rose was left on the boat alone and terrified. Derek probably owed the thugs a lot of money, which they had come to collect. He was definitely not telling the whole truth, which only came out in the open quite later.
How Did Rose Save Herself From Derek?
Derek was lucky that Rose rescued him from the water and tended to his wounds. Alma was dead, and Rose had to work with Derek, although it has to be said that she repaired the boat all by herself. The thugs had damaged it pretty well and set it on fire. Rose had put out the fire and then repaired the mast. When everything was set up, Derek suddenly felt better, which meant he just wanted Rose to do everything. They ended up on a deserted island, and Derek and Rose had to work together to survive. At night, Rose started to grill Derek, as she understood that the men knew him from before. Derek revealed that he had been a good cop but had received nothing for his goodness; hence, he had decided to work for the ‘bad guys’. The captain who killed Alma was the leader of a sex trafficking ring, and had he found Rose on the boat, he most definitely would have kidnapped her for the trade. Derek slipped up and told her about his wife, Annalisa. Annalisa was also the name of Derek’s boat, but he had lied earlier and said that he didn’t know the original owner of the boat. Rose figured that he had killed his wife and taken her boat. Rose ran away and went back on the water, leaving Derek wounded and with a faulty EPIRB.
How Did Rose Rescue The Girls?
During Dangerous Waters‘ ending, Rose was running out of food on the boat, so she decided to try her luck with the flare guns. She first gave Alma a final send-off and waited for somebody to rescue her. Unfortunately, it was the captain’s boat that picked her up. She saw that they had kidnapped a lot of girls, and she had to act coy to seduce the captain. What worked in Rose’s favor was that she had nothing to lose, and she was quite handy with a gun. She made the captain lust for her and proceeded to bash his skull in when he looked away.
The rest of the men were looking for her, but she used the training Derek had given her to use the assault rifle. The girls were heavily drugged and couldn’t be of help, but Rose managed to kill the men one by one. There was a woman in the captain’s crew, and Rose had a fist fight with her, ultimately managing to choke her to death. When Rose thought that she was done with everyone, Derek surprised her with his presence on the ship. It turns out that the EPIRB wasn’t faulty at all. Perhaps Derek was going to use it after he had killed Rose. She knew too much about him and his association with the captain, and Derek couldn’t have that. So, he used the EPIRB, and the captain’s men must have picked him up while Rose was getting all dolled up to seduce the captain. Derek tried to kill her, but Rose managed to kill him with the same knife he had given to her on the boat. The ship was rescued by marine officers, and Rose was safely taken to land. She had lost everything, but she now knew that she wasn’t afraid of anything—not even of the deep waters or the bad men of this world. She knew she could overcome this tragedy and forge her path forward.
