Night Swim – Movie Review (2/5)

NIGHT SWIM is a supernatural horror movie that is somewhat of a mixed bag. However, it’s produced by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan. Read our full Night Swim movie review here!

NIGHT SWIM is out on Digital now, so you can watch it in the comfort of your own home. The supernatural horror movie has a runtime of 1 hour and 38 minutes, which is utilized well.

Overall, however, this horror movie doesn’t work nearly as well as it should. The result is a mixed bag that is quickly forgotten. However, Atomic Monster (James Wan) and Blumhouse (Jason Blum) are producers like on M3GAN.

Continue reading our Night Swim movie review below. Find it on Digital PVOD from January 23, 2024.

Amityville in a pool

Night Swim stars Wyatt Russell (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) as Ray Waller. He is a former major league baseball player, who has been forced into retirement by a degenerative illness.

Along with his wife Eve (Oscar® nominee Kerry Condon), their teenage daughter Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle), and young son Elliot (Gavin Warren), he moves into a new home with a pool.

Doctors have told Ray that swimming could be good, so the pool was a selling point. Unfortunately, it’s also clear that the pool has a grip on him from when he first sees it.

As we’ve seen in the opening scene, this pool contains something sinister, we know it can’t be good. However, it is good for Ray. Suddenly his illness stops progressing and even starts regressing. So he even starts dreaming of returning to baseball!

Unfortunately, it’s also very obvious that he is practically obsessed with the pool and being in the water. All concerns about being a good husband and father are forced to take a backseat. Early on, it has a distinct The Amityville Horror vibe to it.

Strong Movie, Weak Horror

When watching Night Swim, I found myself enjoying the movie in general. However, whenever a scary moment came along, it was so weak and un-scary that it left me puzzled.

I mean, I’m the kind of person who finds dark corners in a room creepy and can almost convince myself that there could be an actual shark in a pool. It shouldn’t be too difficult to scare me with a movie where the horror centers on a dark pool.

Unfortunately, as strong as this movie is (characters and overall story), the actual horror is very weak. Night Swim loses all ability to scare when I see the “monsters”. They look like bad Halloween outfits.

It’s not uncommon that a movie is less scary when we see the monsters. However, I don’t usually feel more like chuckling when I do see them. In Night Swim, they are laughable!

Watch Night Swim on Digital now!

This new feature film was written and directed by Bryce McGuire. It’s based on the acclaimed 2014 horror short film by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire himself. Bryce McGuire also co-wrote the screenplay for the upcoming film Baghead.

We’ve included the horror short film at the bottom of this review, so you can check out the origin of this feature film. It doesn’t include any spoilers for this feature film version of the story. No more than the trailer does anyway.

CHECK OUT THE NIGHT SWIM SHORT FILM

Watch the Night Swim (2014) horror short right here >

As already mentioned, Night Swim is produced by James Wan (Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring franchises), and Jason Blum (the new Halloween trilogy, The Black Phone, and The Invisible Man). A good starting point with these horror masters as producers.

However, I’m sorry to say there’s a little too much of the weaker James Wan-style than the awesome style and storytelling that made him a horror icon. Still, this movie is surprisingly good thanks to its cast compared to how lacking the horror is!

Night Swim is out On Digital (ie. Vudu, Apple TV, Prime Video) from January 23, 2024.

Details

Director: Bryce McGuire
Writers: Bryce McGuire, Rod Blackhurst
Cast: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Jodi Long, Nancy Lenehan, Amélie Hoeferle, Gavin Warren, Ellie Araiza