Night Swim

I went into this film with expectations at an exceptionally low tide, having seen many critic and user reviews laughing about the "haunted swimming pool" idea. As I sat down to watch, beer in hand (a must for this film, honestly), I expected it to be downright awful, and to find myself yelling to many a character, "JUST DONT GO IN THE POOL!?!?" To my honest surprise, while this movie is absolutely kooky (I can only assume its writers were high AF when they came up with the idea), and not at all scary, everyone did the best with the material they had, and when the story went *deeper* to add more to the haunted pool idea, I actually was pretty pleased with how everything eventually came to the surface. I'm a horror fan-and a comedy fan-and this is kind of in the middle of both. It's a mindless way to pass the evening (as I said, drinks are highly recommended), but while it may not float your boat, it's not the worst way to spend your time. Go in it with no to low expectations, and maybe you'll be surprised.

The reviews make this movie look like a disappointment, however, it's par for the course for a horror movie. The acting is pretty good, the plot is very intriguing, and the only failure is the effects. The monster is not consistent, it looks different literally every time we see it, and the effects are Ghostbusters level, or maybe worse actually. Like, clearly animated. But otherwise it's a pretty good movie and actually gave me the heebie jeebies once or twice. The script is intriguing enough with one scene that is a little cringey (feat. Old woman) but what else can we expect from a horror movie? Worth the watch.

Plot

A family moves into a new home, unaware that a dark secret from the house's past will unleash a malevolent force in the backyard pool.

Cast

Wyatt Russell (Who does not have his fathers talent) and a bunch of folk I'm unfamiliar and unimpressed with. And a director I know only from a surprisingly enjoyable short film (Pig).

Verdict

This is a prime example of Hollywood losing their way when it comes to horror, it's so incredibly formulaic down to the letter of predictability.

Yes there is only so much you can do with a movie about a haunted pool, but still being an interesting premise I assumed they had a decent idea behind it and a screenplay that would pan out into something enjoyable.

In reality the concept is passable but that's pretty much all they had, no real content and a very meh ending. And the journey? Every trope, every cliche, everything you expect from a big budget horror feature and I'm so very very tired of them.

If you like The Conjuring, Annabelle, Insidious, Talk to Me and other trite horror films this is for you. If you like substance, skip it.

Rants

I want a pool, you see the the US it appears it's a very middle class thing whereas in the UK it's pretty much the top 1% and therefore extremely rare. Any day now I'll win the lottery and get myself an olympic sized one, outdoors but with the facility for it to be covered at anytime! Right next to my mansion, and multiple acres of land, my zoo and my unicorn paddock.

Breakdown

Interesting concept Weak leading man Couldn't be executed any more generically.

Baseball legend Ray Waller is forced into early retirement, diagnosed with a major illness, he and his family move into a new house, one with a fabulous swimming pool. Unfortunately for The Wallers, The Pool hides a deadly entity.

We've had many films about haunted houses, houses that hold evil spirits, and torment new residents, but this one changes things up a bit, this time it's a killer swimming pool, and I fear that's where the film's major limitation comes from, there's only so much you bobbing up and down in a pool with the lights flickering that you can deal with.

When I saw the trailer, I thought it was an M Night Shyamalan movie, I got Lady in The Water vibes, as I started watching, it became clear that he had nothing to do with it.

There are a couple of scares early on, but when you see 'the thing,' it is pretty laughable. Sometimes less is more, it worked better when you weren't sure what was under there, I burst out laughing when I saw it.

I really wanted that Estate Agent to get into the pool with it, she was one irritating character, her and that rum pudding.

No issues with the acting, and I never mind seeing Wyatt Russell in anything, but he's better than this.

I truly thought this was going to be good, sadly it just ordered so little, for a so called horror it's just very dull, but it's watchable.

5/10.

I wanted to be more scared than I was when I watched the film. The pool or better yet a body of water is an excellent setting for a horror film. I guess the idea of it is greater than the execution of an actual film that takes place in a pool. I immediately think of The Creature from the Black Lagoon or Jaws or The Abyss when there's anything to do with water and horror. I thought maybe this would add onto that pantheon of films as an addition. I was definitely scared at moments but it felt like the filmmakers dropped the ball and couldn't keep the tension going as the film went on. A great cast and they did their part. I just think the overall film didn't hit as it could have.