‘Let's make a haunted movie but it can't be a haunted house, so let's think outside the box’
‘I've got an idea how about a haunted swimming pool’
Shitty movie with a shitty premise. Not scary and what a dreadful ending like someone died and there's zero emotion. Creators just use Ghosts as an excuse to make shit up.
Unfortunately, the streak of flops to start 2024 continues with the newest Blumhouse property, Night Swim.
The movie doesn’t start poorly – it’s actually interesting enough. As so many horror movies do, it begins with a flashback to the “first haunting” when a young girl vanishes from the pool in her backyard late one night. 30 years later, a major league baseball player who recently suffered an injury moves with his family to a suburban home near his wife’s new job…and yes, it’s that same house. With the same pool.
A string of mysterious hauntings begin to appear to the family members as they each individually spend time in the pool (I’ve never seen a family who swims more than this one). What is totally unclear are the correlations between the apparitions, and also the rules that govern them – most of the time, they appear in the pool, but other times, they are around the pool, and there’s even an instance where one seems to make something happen inside the house. The pool seems to haunt some people, but the father seems to be healed by it. Like - what? The lore surrounding what’s going on is incredibly, frustratingly vague. This is only made worse by an intentional obfuscation of the truth, and most of the movie is spent wasting time while the characters really do nothing to investigate what’s happening.
After a sudden and confusing crescendo at a pool party, the movie totally derails. Wyatt Russell’s performance also falls apart here, with some line deliveries that are extraordinarily questionable (you’ll know what I mean when he asks, “is he ok?”). The most egregious mistake here, though, is the decision to explain the entirety of what’s going on in the movie in a five-minute conversation with a somewhat related character who, up until that point, had not been involved with the plot whatsoever. What cripples the effect of this reveal even more is how late in the movie it comes; once we know what’s happening, there’s no more room for tension to build or dread to creep, and therefore, it limps across the finish line with a climax that attempts and fails at multiple solemn emotional connections.
The only thing I agree with here? The decision on what becomes of the pool in the last scene. Finally, logic.
It's a horror movie about a swimming pool and I wasn't expecting much, but man, this manages to be worse than I expected. They're even using AI to write a movie script, but that's not possible.
This is that typical January horror release where a studio decides to cash in on the underdeveloped tastes of teenagers, which is something Hollywood has been doing for almost as long as the genre has been invented (so don’t hate me, we’ve all been taken advantage of at some point). It’s just another dumb, uninteresting possession movie with some of the worst editing and use of sound I’ve seen in a horror movie in a while. Lots of schlocky scares, dreadful lines and terrible performances. I will admit that there were a couple of neat visual choices between the bad camera pans and cheesy CGI, for example I liked some of the underwater shots. Besides that it really stinks, skip it.
2/10
Like a conversation with a goose: nonsensical and silly.
Before the movie started, I thought there's no way this could be a movie about a haunted backyard swimming pool but then the Blumhouse logo floated onto the screen and I realized what I was in for.
Some genuine moments of suspense but most of this movie is as all wet as a goose's ass.
Blumhouse horror is a weird brand, especially when it comes out in January/February (in this case a SWIMMING movie in January). They are often derivative of some horror trope, usually PG-13 to bring kids to the movie theater, and spotty execution. "M3GAN" was one of the rare good examples in 2023, but that still was PG-13 and a Chucky derivative. "Night Swim" was not good. The production quality is what we have come to expect from Blumhouse, but this plot/concept is just nonsense. Long story short, it is just a very bland horror film that will only appeal to people with a very limited horror palate. Happy to have only streamed it for "free" on Peacock.
Rating: 1/5 - 55% - Skip
Glad I skipped this one in the theater. Wasn’t expecting much and it still managed to disappoint.
Not very scary, and I didn't want to have a house with a swimming pool anyway. ;>
Started out solid, so I had a feeling a startling drop off would occur. Did it ever. From decent suspense and foreboding to start to complete inadvertent parody. Barely bothered to watch the last bit. 3.7
An absolute achievement.
I haven't felt less scared watching a horror movie in a while. January horror movies are making a cheeky comeback. Killer swimming pools? Brilliant.
I can't believe The Baron from Dune is haunting a fucking swimming pool lol.
It doesn't start out bad, but then the family starts fooling around, if it's the pool, it's just the pool.
Impressively boring for a film about a killer swimming pool. It had some nice shots in the pool and the acting was decent but the script was just so lame.
I think the biggest issue is that it took itself way too seriously. The concept is so absurd that it should've been campy and fun, like M3GAN or Malignant, but this was clearly trying to be a Real Horror Movie for the most part.
It's also padded to shit. This could've lost 20 minutes and been a tight 80 minute movie and been all the better for it. By the time Kerry Condon is googling the past of the house I was just totally checked out.
PG-13 rating also made it feel very tame. The pool party scene should've been like the climax of Piranha 3D with just a bunch of gory kills in the pool with people unable to escape, or even PG-13 it would've been interesting if the pool just disappeared a shit ton of people at once and the surviving families were left to make sense of it, but that's probably a totally different movie.
Also the Marco Polo scene was laughable. Girl, the second the music cuts out and the pool starts flickering (she would've been able to see that through her eyelids), I would've opened my eyes.
Some short films should just stay short films.
An okay storyline with a decent amount of jumpscares but the reason it doesn’t get a higher rating is due to the fact that it loses the pacing part way through and it’s not helped by Wyatt Russell not being the best actor…
A boring uninspired movie purely made to generate profits for the studios. It wasn't even bad in a good way. Just a dull movie with bland characters.
Cheesey horror. The ideas scared me, but the movie didn't do much. It didn't really make a lot of sense, but I am sure their planning number 2, 3, 4, and 5. The potential was there, but it just didn't feel full enough. The cgi was terrible, and the camerawork could have been a lot better. The acting and the dialogue were plain, but I don't blame the actors. All in all, it's worth it if you're watching it with friends, but probably not if you're watching it alone.
I felt so many vibes, and nither one was good, as a horror movie it's a joke. Mix some plots of some other scripts and "ohh ok we've a movie", or in this case a mess wicth even the title makes sense.
This was close to being a good film. I don't think they nailed down the "evil spirit" well enough -- I think it could have been tightened up a fair bit to make it really spooky rather than just feeling like an old episode of Goosebumps.
The spirit wasn't consistent, for one thing. Its actions were random at best. Every character immediately knew that the Pet Semat... er... SWIMMING POOL was a vampire, and they easily won as soon as the filled in the pool. Anti-climactic, and honestly, did anyone feel bad about any of the injuries or deaths other than the girl right at the start?
It was just another haunted househorror movie but in a pool . The conclusion was a bit cliché. Something to watch if you're bored.
This is weak as the water it is based on.
Amityville but worst, waaaay worst
Had some okay scares. Felt like the ending didn't make much sense.
Not that bad for a Blumhouse PG-13 horror movie released in january about a haunted swimming pool. The concept is interesting but the execution is lazy. It's a movie that takes itself seriously but a lot of it turned out to be unintentionally funny, if it went for a silly campy tone instead it would have been easier to swallow.
The pacing is off but I at least found it entertaining and the underwater sequences are suspenceful. Anytime they showed a ghost it was a complete flop though (except for that one hairy scene). The jumpscares are very cheap but I did get creeped out by the pool in the first half. Lots of movie references I got; It, The Ring, Amityville Horror, 47 Meters Down and Get Out.
Cinematography worked for me, too much special effects, rushed third act and the acting is mostly miss. Kerry Condon was alright, neighbor woman was my favorite and Wyatt Russell was laughable. Every character had a first person perspective moment and I liked that. If you're going to do that much exposition, at least think of some better lore for the pool. I like the reveal of what the pool really is though.
Next Blumhouse haunted object; teddy bear.
A passable supernatural horror.
I had a fine time viewing 'Night Swim'. It brings nothing new to the genre and takes plenty from other productions, though it honestly flew by for me and I enjoyed the horror elements alongside some solid onscreen performers. It does feel like it's missing something, I admittedly can't put my finger on exactly what, but that thought doesn't hinder how I see the flick post-watch.
Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon are good in the lead roles, the latter is the stronger but well cast they both are. Younger cast members Amélie Hoeferle and Gavin Warren are decent, as are those supporting behind the main four. They appear in some solid scenes, which kept me interested in what I was watching - and with a run time of roughly 90 minutes, I was never bored of the portrayed events.
It isn't anything truly memorable, though I'd happily rewatch it if needed. Or perhaps I have bad taste, who's to say?
it's not bad it's okay
"Is he okay?"
kelly condon who did this to u
This is funny bad, so it wasn’t actually a terrible watch. Wyatt Russell as an actor, to me, feels like he’s far beyond this type of movies. Jump scares galore and not a single one works. This ones best watched at home drinking with friends or not at all.
This movie is absolute trash. I feel like I’ve lost brain cells and my IQ is down 50 points from having watched this horse manure of a film. Avoid it at all costs 1/10.
Shout by XiofireBlockedParent2024-01-11T22:48:39Z
AI-written drivel about a possessed swimming pool that resorts to loud noises and cheap tricks to try and stay entertainingly scary for its intended adolescent audience. Devoid of any real merit, Night Swim only succeeds in wasting your time. Give it a miss, it's not even funny-bad, it's just offensively cookie cutter and cliché.