Dead in the Water

Plot

Charlie Deegan is a lawyer who married into his wife Olivia's wealthy family but has become unhappy in their relationship and has become involved in an affair with his assistant Laura. Charlie wants to divorce Olivia, but their prenuptial agreement would prevent him from getting any money, meaning that he will not be able to transition to his dream job as a judge because it pays less than being a lawyer.

Charlie sleeps with Olivia's friend Victoria to misdirect her from his real affair. He then convinces Olivia to go with him to a cabin to work out their problems, where he drowns her in the nearby lake. Charlie and Laura place Olivia's body and various red herring clues in a car that they dump in the water. Several days later Laura's body is found and Charlie is a suspect. Victoria tells Charlie that she had him followed and knew about his affair with Laura, which angered her. She agrees to keep quiet if he agrees to marry her once Olivia is declared dead. Charlie is once again stuck in an unhappy relationship and is then visited by Lou, Laura's secret husband.

Cast

Bryan Brown as Charlie Deegan

Teri Hatcher as Laura Stewart

Anne De Salvo as Olivia Deegan

Veronica Cartwright as Victoria Haines

Seymour Cassel as Lieutenant Frank Vaness

Pruitt Taylor Vince as Lou Rescetti

Anna Thomson as Edie Meyers

Ron Karabatsos as Mike Welch

Daniel Reichert as Jack Homelin

Tim Haldeman as Prosecutor

Tom Wright as Hotel Clerk

Ralph Oliver as Trial Judge

Eric Christmas as Judge Griffin

Michael Kaufman as Neurosurgeon

C. H. Evans as Lodge Manager

Jo Farkas as Manager's Wife

Jack Orend as Coroner

Ernie Lively as Dignitary

Brent Hinkley as Lake Guard

Wolf Wirth as Waiter

Reception

Reviewer Peter Sobczynski of rogerebert.com called the film a "low-budget [...] potboiler".

Home media

Dead in the Water was released in Australia as a DVD (4:3 format, region-free) by Flashback Entertainment by arrangement with Umbrella Entertainment.