Long-simmering resentments between the friends boil over, proving that in survival situations, the people you’re with can be more dangerous than the environment. Critical and Commercial Reception

: Promotional materials famously claimed the film was "based on actual events". While the original Open Water was based on the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, Adrift is largely a work of fiction. (Note: It is often confused with the 2018 film Adrift , which is a true survival story).

The survival film genre typically posits humanity against nature. From Cast Away to The Reef , the central conflict is usually defined by distance—between the survivor and civilization, or between the survivor and safety. Open Water 2: Adrift subverts this trope. The protagonists are not lost at sea; they are parked beside safety. The central conflict of the film is not the journey home, but the inability to overcome a vertical drop of five feet.