January might bring a fresh start for the new year, but for horror fans, it means getting ready to plunge into the icy depths of early-in-the-year fright flicks. And no production company makes more of a splash in this chilly movie season than Blumhouse, the modern masters of horror behind screamfests like Get Out, The Purge series, and recent killer doll hit M3GAN.
Come January, you can always expect Blumhouse to release another terrifying tale, hoping to lure thrill-seekers in from the winter cold. The latest such scream is Night Swim, bringing a spine-tingling take on the haunted house genre. Directed by Bryce McGuire, Night Swim centers on the Waller family, who move into a pleasant suburban home complete with a backyard swimming pool. But as any horror buff knows, still waters run deep, and it turns out this pool has a sinister history that soon begins tormenting the Wallers.
As the ominous waters work their malefic magic, Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell), a retired baseball slugger now battling MS, starts experiencing miraculous recoveries. But simultaneously, creepy events plague his wife Eve (Kerry Condon) and their two kids, Izzy and Elliot. Toys floating by themselves. Strange figures appearing underwater. Is their idyllic new home becoming a watery grave?
With its Spielbergian suburban setting and Poltergeist-like paranormal hijinks, Night Swim promises some surface scares. But does this Blumhouse pool thriller make enough waves to carry horror fans through a slow January? Grab your inner tube, and let’s dive in to find out!
Haunted Hopes: Inside the Wallers’ Suburban Nightmare
At first glimpse, the Wallers seem like any typical American family pursuing the suburban dream. Patriarch Ray (Wyatt Russell) is a former pro baseball slugger, forced into early retirement due to a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. His wife Eve (Kerry Condon) hopes finding a permanent home will allow them to finally put down roots and create stability for their two kids: sociable teen Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle) and shy young Elliot (Gavin Warren).
When the Wallers discover a pleasant house in Minnesota complete with a backyard pool, it appears they’ve found their slice of suburbia. Despite having fallen into disrepair from years of neglect, Ray sees rehabilitating the pool as the perfect outlet for his competitive nature and a chance to regain strength through water therapy. And initially, regular swimming sessions do wonders – both for restoring Ray’s vitality and for bonding the family. Izzy swims laps to prep for tryouts, Elliot plays Marco Polo with newfound friends, and Eve smiles watching her husband’s encouraging progress.
But this uplifting new chapter starts taking some terrifying turns. Creepy events plague the Waller children whenever they take a dip. Toys seem to glide through the water unattended. Elliot hears disembodied voices beckon from the dark depths. Most disturbing, Izzy’s nighttime swim takes a panic-inducing turn when she comes face to face with a freakish humanoid creature in the deep end.
Rather than confront the pool’s increasingly sinister mysteries, Ray remains in denial, addicted to the strength it somehow provides. And Eve tries comforting herself with rational explanations, clinging to the hope of establishing that elusive perfect family home. But as the paranormal occurrences amplify in frequency and intensity, the Wallers must confront the likelihood that their backyard pool harbors menacing secrets…and their suburban dreams may meet a nightmarish demise.
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More Soapy Than Scary: Assessing Night Swim’s Fear Factor
Given Blumhouse’s pedigree as modern horror royalty, viewers may dive into Night Swim expecting some heart-pounding aquatic thrills. And while the film delivers occasional jolts of tension, its lackluster scares fail to produce more than a few surface ripples. Ultimately, Night Swim plays more like a melodramatic family drama than a genuinely spine-tingling fright fest.
In terms of build-up, director Bryce McGuire clearly grasped how to ratchet suspense and foreboding atmosphere. Haunted house tropes effectively establish the pool as an ominous force – toys drifting eerily through chlorinated waters, pets meeting mysterious demises. The sequence where Izzy’s moonlit swim turns into a panicked escape from an amphibious demon channels the primal terror of hoary classics like Creature from the Black Lagoon.
But ultimately, McGuire’s hesitance to get nasty undermines any hope of leaving horror buffs soaked to the bone. The creature design looks disappointingly cheap compared to modern CGI beasts, lacking the tactile presence that made Jaws forever shrink kids from deep waters. And the backstory surrounding the pool’s haunted history feels cobbled together from horror clichés about vengeful spirits rather than tapping into more elemental fears.
The scant moments of adrenaline-surging scares fall short of rivals like The Ring or The Conjuring that relentlessly double down on dread. And attempts to explore the supernatural mythology read more silly than scary in execution. When “there’s something wrong with this pool” becomes an earnest climactic line, it’s hard not to laugh instead of shudder.
While Poltergeist and Jaws memorably channeled domestic and natural terrors lurking beneath tranquil suburban surfaces, Night Swim awkwardly grasps for profundity. Sacrifice, ambition’s dark side, favoritism – the themes touched on feel shoehorned between uninspired jump scares rather than arising organically. For viewers craving creepy ambiance rather than extreme horror, Night Swim may provide mild amusement. But for hardcore horror fans, the film’s bloodless thrills are sure to leave a bland taste.
More Than Monsters: Exploring Night Swim’s Poignant Depths
While Night Swim’s horror set pieces may not consistently thrill, the film finds more sure footing exploring relatable family dynamics and poignant themes. Avoiding genre clichés, the script instead leans into the universal struggles of career vs. family, the pain of thwarted dreams, and the complex ties that bind.
Anchoring this grounded material are some powerfully raw performances, particularly from leads Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon. As Ray devolves from athletic breadwinner to embittered invalid, Russell brings sensitivity to portraying the specific anguish of losing independence and identity to illness. Meanwhile, Condon locates the aching humanity in Eve’s exhaustion and wavering optimism as she strives to hold her family together.
Supporting turns also add texture, from Jodi Long’s unnervingly ambigous predecessor resident to the Waller kids capturing adolescent growing pains. And rather than using the paranormal haunting as a crutch, the dialogue places priority on probing relationship conflicts and the characters’ complicated interior lives.
If the messaging around sacrifice and favoritism occasionally turns heavy-handed, McGuire largely resists spelling out tidy morals. The story’s ultimate validation lies less in supernatural twists than in its compassionate insight into ordinary people weathering life’s storms as best they can. The Wallers may discover monsters in the deep end, but the real horror stems from confronting painful truths about themselves.
For viewers who connect personally to stories about family resilience or the heartbreak of vanishing capabilities, Night Swim’s emotional currents cut deeper than its tepid scares. Those seeking slick thrills may drift away bored, but patient fans may uncover affecting depths lurking beneath the surface. Like the pool harboring its secrets, this mixed bag holds some rewarding treasures for those willing to dive deeper.
Night Swim Review: A Mixed Bag for Selective Horror Fans
In ultimately treading water more than making waves, Night Swim will likely leave hardcore horror devotees wanting more bite to match its bark. Uneven CGI and sporadic storytelling diminish the dread, failing to fully deliver on the killer pool concept’s creepy potential. Director Bryce McGuire showcases some slick style, but restraint hobbling the horror hampers mounting a memorably terrifying plunge.
Yet viewers less fixated on extreme thrills may find redeeming resonance in the film’s thoughtful themes and affecting family drama. Bolstered by strong lead performances and sprinkled scares to placate genre fans, Night Swim doesn’t fully flounder despite its flaws. Those seeking a mature and emotional take on hauntings through a suburban lens could enjoy these conflicted characters’ eerie ordeal.
As the maiden collaboration between horror juggernauts Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, though, Night Swim won’t make the kind of zeitgeist splash scoring future franchise hopes. It lacks the bold vision or boundary-pushing execution that ignite water cooler chatter and cement legacies. But there remain glimmers suggesting the merged monoliths could concoct superior creepfests by playing to their strengths.
For now, Night Swim amounts to a riveting misfire – admirable in parts, frustrating in others, likely leaving fans debating its merits. This unpredictable mixed bag earns a cautious recommendation for horror completests, but warrants tempered expectations. Ultimately its lingering impact will polarize by each viewer’s taste – for some a refreshing dip, for others lukewarm water warranting warmer thrills.
The Review
Night Swim
Night Swim wants desperately to make waves as a prestige fright flick, but murky cinematic depths and uneven execution leave it floundering. Promising concepts around suburban secrets and an insidious backyard pool offer more eerie atmosphere than bonafide scares, especially for discriminating horror hounds. Uneven acting and thinly sketched characters further dilute the intended ominous ambiance. Yet what narrative substance does surface offers moments of affecting insight into family dynamics under supernatural duress. Viewers partial to terror grounded in domestic tensions and poignant themes might connect with its earnest emotional undercurrents, even if the actual aquatic haunting fails to sufficiently horrify. With atmospheric strengths nearly counterbalancing lackluster thrills, Night Swim doesn't entirely sink despite its scattered flaws. But neither does it make a splash likely to enter horror's pantheon or launch new franchise hopes. Ultimately Bryce McGuire’s debut hints at directorial chops still requiring refinement before treading water with horror heavyweights.
PROS
- Effective buildup and tension
- Strong lead performances from Russell and Condon
- Thoughtful themes related to family, regret, ambition vs. relationships
- Moments of atmospheric creepiness and dread
CONS
- Not consistently scary, lacks extreme thrills
- Creature design and CGI effects look cheap
- Haunted pool backstory feels unoriginal
- Strange tonal shifts between drama and attempted horror
