REVIEW: Don’t bother with a dip, ‘Night Swim’ is a skip

A film from Blumhouse Productions kicked off both 2023 and 2024. The difference is that “M3gan” was a much better experience than “Night Swim.”

The new horror stars Kerry Condon and Wyatt Russell as Eve and Ray Waller, who begin the movie in the market for a new house. Their search for a new home comes after Ray had to retire from Major League Baseball due to an illness.

The home they end up buying appears to be a great fit, as the pool in the backyard will be helpful for Ray’s physical therapy. Things at the new home start off well enough, with the family of four enjoying the luxury of having a pool. However, creepy things begin happening and paranormal sights are seen.

“Night Swim” Director Bryce McGuire also helmed a 2014 short film with the same title. That short film was just four minutes, and in that format, the idea of a paranormal pool works well enough for a quick thrill. Stretching that concept to a full feature on the other hand doesn’t work quite as well.

Even at just over an hour and a half, “Night Swim” appears as if it’s being pulled beyond its capacity. That’s not to say new, different or unique ideas shouldn’t be given a fair chance, but there’s not really much featured with the pool that’s inventive enough to warrant its length.

Instead, what an audience gets is a lot of generic tropes from horror movies from the last decade that have revolved around hauntings. It’s a lot of moments where things move on their own, a character turns around and a ghostly figure is revealed, and there’s some possession where a person gets a scary voice.

That’s not to say there’s zero interesting ideas at play. The aspect of the water in the pool healing Ray and then turning into something sinister is a fine dynamic. However, there’s not much else taking place that keep a viewer invested or frightened. 

In fact, on the latter point, some of the attempts at scaring a viewer end up being downright laughable. This is especially true during the film’s finale where things go off the rails with some awful dialogue. As a result, there’s not a shred of suspense, so a person just waits around for some jump scares here and there.

Maybe if the film had the pool actually do more to those swimming in it, things may have been more entertaining. Perhaps have the haunted pool be able to change temperatures, start boiling one character in a scene and then make it cold in the next. Even simply poisoning a character and showing it can do some damage would be something. As it is, all that’s offered are recycled bits from the genre.

The only thing making the experience bearable was the cast. That’s especially true with Academy Award nominee Kerry Condon, who was trying her damnedest to make this work. Her and the rest of the cast to their credit make the most out of the material, but the fact is the material isn’t that strong.

“Night Swim” doesn’t do much with its concept that already comes across as limited. It’s not scary and the writing is lackluster making it a chore to sit through. The cast deserves credit for doing what they can and the direction from McGuire isn’t awful, but this one is still way off target. 1.5 out of 5.