10 Movies Based On True Stories (That Were Total Lies)

7. Open Water

Open Water sought to make itself more terrifying by ensuring that the marketing played up to the fact that it was a "true story." What's wrong with that, you wonder? Not a lot, except for the fact that the "true story" is literally just "two people get eaten by sharks," which nobody is sure actually even happened. And given that the movie is purporting to be based on that idea, given that it's a movie about people being eaten by sharks, it seems a little lackluster to advertise your picture on "something that may have happened, uh, probably at some point. Yeah."

Which is to say, Open Water tells the chilling story of two scuba divas, Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who are left behind on a scuba diving trip, and are forced to float and cry in the ocean until sharks eat them. The problem is that nobody knows that these two people were actually eaten by sharks - the only thing we do know is that their camera was found in a shark. So there's just as much likelihood that the pair drowned, in actuality, and yet... the movie claims to be a "true story."

But the point and main hook of the movie - eaten by sharks - isn't even true!