The Pool

I can't count how often the two main characters acted dumb in this movie, but I still suffered for these weirdos. The stage is as simple as can: A deep pool, pumped out, at first 1 and then 2 dumb people plus 1 crocodile. Fading out that the crocodile might kill a person in some minutes, there were tough moments. I did like the production by building up suspense with minimal things like a ringing cellphone or a dog taking notice of them both. There are so many little things to notice that it makes the (tolerant) audience shiver with impatience of what happens next. A more sober audience will only count the dumb fails of the two protagonists. So I would recommend that movie to an uncritical audience, which just wants to have some entertainment. It has a wicked idea I like.

If you're told the water was released in a 20 foot deep pool with no steps or ladders, you don't decide it's the best time go to sleep on a raft. As soon as he did that I was out of the movie because there was no way anyone is actually this stupid and I couldn't root for this moron surviving.

A better idea would have had him getting out of the pool minutes after his friend left and having him slip and hit his head passing out in the water and then waking up when the water was low.

Having him decide to take a freaking nap as the water was going down just made him too stupid to live and you just want the croc to eat him as soon as it fell inside the pool.

But the croc was too busy sleeping with a perfectly placed roll of duct tape in it's mouth that the dummy needed.

And then there's the idiot girlfriend with the diving fetish...she wants to dive so badly that even after she sees the pool only 1/4 filled she makes a giddy beeline for the diving board. What the hell??

And to make matters worse, these idiots procreated and have their idiot spawn growing inside her. You just want to root for the croc!

The film has lots of suspense, tension n hell lottuva far-fetched scenes. The film is a mix of 127 hours, Cast Away, Apocalypto, etc. Too many unbelievable scenes saved by tension filled scenes. The effects of the crocodile is a bit shaky but still commendable.

I'm not sure what another reviewer meant writing "man becomes spider ..." - not that the rest of the review made more sense to me. But anyway, you have to suspend your disbelief! And when I say you have to - I mean multiple times! Over and over again - and just accept some real tough coincidences happening that allow the movie to happen.

There is no real plot here - but it doesn't need one. As the main characters don't seem to need certain things to make it at times ... though will they survive overall? The odds are not in their favor ... and even when they catch a break, something happens to ... break their break. Ridiculous and occasionally over the top, this can be "fun" to watch for some

I stumbled upon "The Pool" by random chance. I hadn't heard about it. I didn't know who starred in it. I didn't even know what it was about. It was a Thai movie, and given my fascination and interest in Asian cinema, then of course I took the chance to sit down and watch the 2018 movie "The Pool" from director and writer Ping Lumpraploeng.

So how was this movie? Well, actually it was quite good, taking into consideration the relative simplicity of the storyline. But the movie was also somewhat predictable, but still turned out to be thrilling and exciting.

The concept idea of the storyline is having a guy stranded in a pool with no means of escape, since the pool has been drained of enough water to make it impossible for him to reach the top of the basin. Then comes help, in the form of his pregnant girl friend, but things go horribly awry. And to make matters worse, a crocodile ends up in the pool as well, also with no means of escape.

The movie was entertaining from beginning to end, though some of the scenes were definitely quite generic and you know what would happen even from a mile away.

The crocodile was adequate, though some of the close-up scenes where it attacked Day was painstakingly CGI animated and you could see that even with your eyes closed.

The acting was good, and heeradej Wongpuapan (playing Day) and Ratnamon Ratchiratham (playing Koy) were actually performing well and carried the movie with enough confidence that the storyline worked out in their hands.

However, "The Pool" is hardly a masterpiece in Thai cinema, nor is it a movie that you are likely to watch more than just once.