From Joe Peltzer

Sometimes short films are best left untouched, case in point being the feature film adaptation of Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire’s Night Swim. While the source material expertly imbues each moment of the about three minute runtime with tension, the latest Blumhouse and Atomic Monster team-up wastes its potential with silly dialogue and lackluster execution.

In the film the Waller family moves into a new fixer upper home that has a pool in the backyard, something that the family believes could help father/ex-baseball player Ray (Wyatt Russell) as he battles Multiple Sclerosis. As the family becomes settled and swimming becomes a regular pastime, each family member begins seeing the true terror lying beneath the surface. Kerry Condon costars as matriarch Eve, delivering a worthy performance with little to work with. It’s a far cry from her thoughtful character in The Banshees of Inisherin, but hey, get that bag. Russell also is solid here, though he is the unfortunate vessel for some of the film’s cringiest moments (“You’re supposed to say POLO!”). The audience is beaten over the head with his background as a professional ball player, from Ray reminiscing while unpacking trophies and cards to him watching replays of past games on the regular. He even assists his son’s (played by Gavin Warren) little league team in batting practice where he steps up to the plate and, as we see in random slow motion, absolutely destroys a ball that is sent into the lights. Did I mention that he used to be a baseball player?

In addition to Condon, young Amélie Hoeferle is a bright spot as the eldest child of the Waller family. She perfectly plays the older sister towering over her brother while exhibiting the fear expected of a kid having experienced what she does. Warren is equally good in this regard, but the whole dynamic is between the two is worn.

The standout performer is actually only in the film for mere moments; Nancy Lenhan (best known as Jonah’s mom in Veep) is delightfully quirky in each of her scenes. Sure, without her we wouldn’t have been fed the background necessary to understand part of the plot (“Was her name Rebecca Summers?”, “How do you know that name?”), but she was a bright spot nonetheless. 

Writer/director McGuire plays every moment of Night Swim absolutely too safe, each decision from the camera’s focus to the use of sound predictable and refurbished from better films. There are moments in the script that seem so shoehorned in that you immediately know they will resurface in the third act (“swing away” from Signs comes to mind). Even the explanation of the source of the horror in the water doesn’t pass the over-simplistic logic test afforded to horror films; in attempting to create a backstory for the film’s events, McGuire instead wades into the challenging waters of opening up a leaky box of plot holes. What’s the deal with Mrs. Summers in light of the explanation for the pool’s draw (without spoiling it)? Is this the only pool in the area experiencing this? Why were some of the pool people decrepit while others were shown pristinely? Were none of these people ever taught to keep their eyes closed underwater? 

What results is a boring slog of a film that reminds you of The Amityville Horror in bits and pieces, though this aspect is quickly delivered and underwhelming in execution. There is a whole angle of Warren’s character being a weak, friendless boy, perhaps living in the shadow of his macho and revered father, that is teased but never explored, ultimately serving a key role in the film’s climax and Russell’s character’s (possessed) intentions. Night Swim is simply ill-conceived and could have used a “shocking” to stir up the plot.

A horror film is intended to make you uneasy and, with the source of the frights here being a pool, likely make you think about it next time you enter the water (think Jaws and the ocean). Night Swim fails to even broach this fear with the audience and is instead destined to float out of our collective cinematic consciousnesses with little to no splash.

Rating: 1.5/5

Night Swim hits theaters Friday.

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