Red Water
Encyclopedia
Red Water is a 2003 made for television horror film
starring Lou Diamond Phillips
, Kristy Swanson
, Gideon Emery
and Coolio
.
(TBS) in August 2003, and became one of the highest-rated movies in the station's history. Directed by Charles Robert Carner and produced by Michael G. Larkin and Mitch Engel, the film tells the story of a bull shark
which wreaks havoc as it makes its way up a river in Louisiana.
The production built three different sharks to depict the single bull shark in the movie. One of those became the first free-swimming animatronic shark ever used in a motion picture.
In an homage, the film uses the same Louisiana
license plate Hooper pulls from a shark's stomach in Jaws
(1975).
located on a small river
in Louisiana
hits it big and former oiler John Sanders (who quit when a blowout occurred on a rig he was the boss of and four men died) and his friend Emery are hired to take his ex-wife Kelly and her boss to the location. Nearby, some thugs do diving for stolen goods that were dumped nearby. Unfortunately, at the same time, a huge freshwater bull shark
enters the river and starts terrorizing and killing people. Emery's people, a local tribe, believe that the shark is a spirit that supposedly protects the area where the well is manifested in physical form as vengeance for the oil rig.
Several people are killed by it and an attempt by locals to kill it drives it right back up the river, towards the oil rig. As a result of all the deaths, a $10,000 reward is posted for the shark's death. Unfortunately John, Emery, Kelly and her boss are captured by the three goons and the boss is shot in the leg and ultimately bleeds to death. The oil rig has a blowout and two men are killed. The shark arrives and kills several people as well as terrorizing the crew by taunting them by swimming around the rig.
John and Kelly are forced to dive for the loot and recover it while the goons drink, mock each other, and plot what to do with the money. One of the goons kills the third in order to keep the money between himself and his partner, Jerry. John manages to escape from the goons and after helping Kelly and Emery escape, shoots the fuel tank on his boat, killing one of the goons. The other one, Ice, (Coolio
) is killed by the shark attempting to retrieve the money.
John manages to lure the shark under the oil rig and Emery activates the drill and drops it into the shark's mouth, finally killing it. John, Kelly and Emery have a tooth from the shark as proof of their kill (the shark bit John in the foot and a tooth broke off that he retrieved) and debate whether or not to collect the reward, but Emery, still believing the shark is a spirit in physical form, suggests that now that it is dead, that they should just let it rest in peace. John takes Emery's advice and tosses the tooth into the river, letting it sink to the bottom. Minutes later, they are found by the local sheriff
who shows up in a helicopter
to check on them.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips is an American film, television, and stage actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film La Bamba. He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I...
, Kristy Swanson
Kristy Swanson
Kristen Nöel "Kristy" Swanson is an American actress best known for playing Buffy in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she also played Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the movie version of the V.C...
, Gideon Emery
Gideon Emery
Gideon Emery is an English actor and voice actor, known for his stage work in South Africa and for providing voices in video games. He lives in Los Angeles.-Early life:...
and Coolio
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
.
Production and release
The film originally aired on the Turner Broadcasting SystemTurner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
(TBS) in August 2003, and became one of the highest-rated movies in the station's history. Directed by Charles Robert Carner and produced by Michael G. Larkin and Mitch Engel, the film tells the story of a bull shark
Bull shark
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers...
which wreaks havoc as it makes its way up a river in Louisiana.
The production built three different sharks to depict the single bull shark in the movie. One of those became the first free-swimming animatronic shark ever used in a motion picture.
In an homage, the film uses the same Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
license plate Hooper pulls from a shark's stomach in Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
(1975).
Plot
A small oil rigOil rig
Oil rig may refer to* Drilling rig, an apparatus for on-land oil drilling* Oil platform, an apparatus for offshore oil drillingOIL RIG or OILRIG may refer to :...
located on a small river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
hits it big and former oiler John Sanders (who quit when a blowout occurred on a rig he was the boss of and four men died) and his friend Emery are hired to take his ex-wife Kelly and her boss to the location. Nearby, some thugs do diving for stolen goods that were dumped nearby. Unfortunately, at the same time, a huge freshwater bull shark
Bull shark
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers...
enters the river and starts terrorizing and killing people. Emery's people, a local tribe, believe that the shark is a spirit that supposedly protects the area where the well is manifested in physical form as vengeance for the oil rig.
Several people are killed by it and an attempt by locals to kill it drives it right back up the river, towards the oil rig. As a result of all the deaths, a $10,000 reward is posted for the shark's death. Unfortunately John, Emery, Kelly and her boss are captured by the three goons and the boss is shot in the leg and ultimately bleeds to death. The oil rig has a blowout and two men are killed. The shark arrives and kills several people as well as terrorizing the crew by taunting them by swimming around the rig.
John and Kelly are forced to dive for the loot and recover it while the goons drink, mock each other, and plot what to do with the money. One of the goons kills the third in order to keep the money between himself and his partner, Jerry. John manages to escape from the goons and after helping Kelly and Emery escape, shoots the fuel tank on his boat, killing one of the goons. The other one, Ice, (Coolio
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
) is killed by the shark attempting to retrieve the money.
John manages to lure the shark under the oil rig and Emery activates the drill and drops it into the shark's mouth, finally killing it. John, Kelly and Emery have a tooth from the shark as proof of their kill (the shark bit John in the foot and a tooth broke off that he retrieved) and debate whether or not to collect the reward, but Emery, still believing the shark is a spirit in physical form, suggests that now that it is dead, that they should just let it rest in peace. John takes Emery's advice and tosses the tooth into the river, letting it sink to the bottom. Minutes later, they are found by the local sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
who shows up in a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
to check on them.
Cast
- Lou Diamond PhillipsLou Diamond PhillipsLou Diamond Phillips is an American film, television, and stage actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film La Bamba. He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I...
as John Sanders - Kristy SwansonKristy SwansonKristen Nöel "Kristy" Swanson is an American actress best known for playing Buffy in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she also played Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the movie version of the V.C...
as Dr. Kelli Raymond - CoolioCoolioArtis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
as Ice - Jaimz WoolvettJaimz WoolvettJaimz Woolvett is a Canadian actor. He was born on April 14, 1967 in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. Woolvett's highest-profile role was The Schofield Kid, a near-sighted, aspiring gun-fighter in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning Western Unforgiven . He has a younger brother, Gordon Michael...
as Jerry Collins - Rob Boltin as Emery Brousard
- Langley Kirkwood as Brett van Ryan
- Dennis HaskinsDennis HaskinsDennis Haskins is an American actor known for his role as principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which aired from 1993 to 2000...
as Captain Dale Landry - Gideon EmeryGideon EmeryGideon Emery is an English actor and voice actor, known for his stage work in South Africa and for providing voices in video games. He lives in Los Angeles.-Early life:...
as Gene Bradley - Charles DumasCharles DumasCharles Everett Dumas was an American high jumper, the 1956 Olympic champion, and the first person to clear 7 ft....
as Hank Ellis - Clive Scott as Grandpa Gautreau
- Nicholas Andrews as André Gautreau
- Hilton Myburgh as Vidrine
- Garth Collins as Lacombe, Oil Rig Worker
- Tumisho Masha as Rick (as Tumisho K. Masha)
- Shirley DavidsonShirley DavidsonShirley Davidson was a Canadian ice hockey player for the Montreal Victorias during the late 19th century. He was a member of several Stanley Cup Championship teams in the 1895, 1896 and 1897 AHAC seasons.-Playing career:...
as Tricia - Lord Jason Scott as Sgt. S. Davies Deputy