Night Swim Treads Water But Ultimately Sinks

Night Swim is, undoubtedly, a film about a killer pool. If you want to see a movie about a pool trying to kill a whole lot of people, this is the movie for you. Beyond that though, it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly the movie wants to be. It’s not quite scary, but it can be kind of tense. It’s not cheesy, but it’s also kind of funny. It’s sometimes smart, but also maddingly dumb. And even when things start to get interesting, something holds it back. The result is an admittedly intriguing but ultimately disappointing pseudo-horror film that isn’t a complete waste of time—but comes very, very close to being that.

Written and directed by Bryce McGuire, based on a short film by McGuire and Rod Blackhurst, Night Swim stars Wyatt Russell (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) and Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) as Ray and Eve Waller, parents of two who buy a new house that has a big, old swimming pool in the backyard. The pool is a huge selling point for the family as each character is given a very specific/borderline silly reason for wanting a pool. Ray needs it to help nurse an injury that may have ruined his baseball career. Eve’s dad was in the Navy, so she’s an expert diver. Daughter Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle) is joining the swim team to hang with a boy she likes, and son Elliot (Gavin Warren) generally lacks confidence but is great in the water, so it’s the place he feels most himself.

A big chunk of Night Swim is spent justifying why this family would not only use this pool, but use it a lot. Which, instantly, feels like it’s trying way too hard. Couldn’t it just be hot where they live? Does anyone really get up at 3 a.m. and think “Yeah, now’s a good time for a swim?” There’s even an at first oddly elaborate, but eventually purposeful, backstory given to the pool, which is that it’s from a natural spring, so there’s no need to do much to it. It regulates itself. Makes zero sense, but sure. We go with it.

McGuire’s script does its best to make these swim connections a bigger part of each character’s development but the results are mixed. Mostly that’s because from the very first time the Wallers even see the pool, it tries to kill them. Then as it tries to kill each and every one of them time and time again, everyone keeps it a secret for another list of forced excuses. Some of these make sense but it gets very frustrating very quickly when a quick “Hey Mom, a bloated black creature tried to pull me into our pool” could’ve really sped things along.

Eventually though, that does happen. Some of the Wallers slowly begin to communicate more about the pool and these scenes set the table for Night Swim’s most interesting and captivating moments. McGuire has come up with a surprisingly cool and fun explanation for why all this killer pool stuff is happening and once the characters begin putting it all together in the third act, there are a few solid payoffs. Not all of it makes sense but, again, you kind of just have to go with it.

The bigger problem is as all of this is unfolding, from the swimming to the threats to the payoffs, Night Swim never has a shred of cohesion. All the issues around the family are handled so, so seriously that when lines of dialogue like “We have a pool!” are exclaimed with gleeful gusto, it’s like a release value of the awkwardness. The actors, and Russell most specifically, seem unsure if this is a movie that knows it’s about a killer pool or if the killer pool should be handled as if it’s a real thing. Condon, to her credit, sticks with the latter, giving a solid, emotional performance that by comparison makes the others feel off. At times, scenes can feel like McGuire and his editors weren’t sure what tone to convey and picked alternative takes of certain line deliveries just to force a laugh or two.

And yet, that Night Swim seemingly can’t decide between being serious or humorous would’ve been nearly forgivable if the film was scary. Which it isn’t. Because all of the action takes place in the pool, there isn’t much room for surprise. For 95% of the movie, either the evil is in the pool or there isn’t any evil. As a result, we get some of the most elaborate and unique pool photography you’ve ever seen in a movie. Every inch of that pool is shot from every angle in an attempt to keep the film visually engaging–which, for the most part, succeeds. But that doesn’t mean every single potentially scary moment isn’t overly telegraphed to a fault. You sit there hoping to be scared, but there are only so many swimming POV, overhead, or low-angle deep-end shots in the world before you can tell exactly what’s coming.

That Night Swim delivers a few solid twists, and more than a few meme-worthy line deliveries, might be enough for some horror fans to enjoy it. The concept is strong, though poorly executed, and Russell and Condon do their best with the material they’re given. Some of the more human moments, especially involving Ray’s baseball career, are actually kind of moving, even if those often feel like they’re from another movie (and in, one case, are directly lifted from one). And if all of this sounds a bit manic and random it’s because that’s what Night Swim is. It’s a film that’s simple enough on the surface, but once it starts diving deeper into its characters and mythology, gets lost in a whirlpool of tone and intention.

Night Swim is now in theaters.

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