Night Swim
review by Bobby Blakey
James Wan and Jason Blum have made names for themselves in the horror genre so when you have them team up on a film there are high hopes for something special. Their latest producing endeavor is the new film, Night Swim starring Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle, and Gavin Warren with director Bryce McGuire at the helm. Could their latest film bring terror from the deep end, or will it sink to the bottom of the pool?
Night Swim follows Ray persuades Eve that the new home’s shimmering backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for him, secretly hoping, against the odds, to return to pro ball. But a dark secret in the home’s past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under, into the depths of inescapable terror.
I found the trailers for this film interesting and a good chance of delivering something fun and different. Sadly, while the film has some decent moments and I loved a lot of the pool visuals, the film never really finds its footing or pace to deliver what could have been. The story is simple but over-complicates things by never fully committing to the reasoning why this is all happening until the very end. It keeps going in one direction only to shift gears and not in a way that works for a fun twist.
Everyone is good in their respective roles with Condon bringing the most emotion and Russell looking to enjoy this different kind of character. Almost every character in this film makes dumb decisions like with any horror film, but it feels like they are little more often than usual. This just brings more crazy moments, but the need to come up with some crazy explanation takes it all over
the place and further makes these bad decisions making it all the more prevalent.
As mentioned, before I really dug most of he underwater and pool visuals, especially the use of lighting. It gives it that tone that pulls the suspense even when it never comes. There wasn’t anything scary here and the use of CGI kind of takes you out of it more often than not. I didn’t hate this film and honestly thought it was fine, but there was so much more that it could have been and ended up being more of a missed opportunity. No doubt it will find its audience with the horror fans so decide for yourself and check it out.
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including commentary and numerous featurettes taking you underwater to bring this film to life. Dare to dive into the pool and grab your copy of Night Swim available now on digital and then on Blu-ray and DVD on April 9th from Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.