All right, we got Night Swim, a PG-13 Horror in January. This should be fun.
A former major league baseball player is forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness and then moves into a new home with his concerned wife and their two kids, secretly hoping against the odds to return to pro ball. Eve agrees with Ray that the sparkling pool in their new home’s backyard will delight the children and help him heal his injuries. But they don’t know that the house hides a terrible secret that will unleash a sinister power that will pull them down into a nightmare they can’t escape.
Character Dynamics: Okay, so we’ve got Wyatt Russell and Carrie Condon leading this, and Condon is great in her role. She personifies the caring and concerned wife and mom doing her best to hold the family together through their difficult circumstances.
Setting the Stage: Now, from the start of the film, we’re shown an unsettling scene with some mildly creepy visuals. There’s a young girl who’s attempting to get a toy from their backyard swimming pool, and as the title suggests, this has taken place at night. Well, tragedy strikes, and then we’re hurled about 30 years into the future, which is now the present. So, you following that? All right.
So, this movie suffers from an identity crisis. It can’t decide if it wants to be a horror/thriller, a family drama, or a mystery. And the film could be all three effectively, but instead, it just dabbles in each area, leaving them all wanting. Now, before I dive headlong into the negatives, and most definitely that pun was intended, there are some areas where this movie does shine.
Night Swim Movie Highlights:
First, the water scenes. There’s a ton of underwater or split shots that show a character as they’re in the water, but we get to see above and below. Now, in itself, this isn’t anything special, but as it’s mixed with sound effects and the musical score, there’s an eerie tone that’s established. And then there are some messed up visuals too. Now, not all of the CGI works, but it’s good enough to create vague shapes and forms both in and out of the water. There are a few times when we get to see what’s going bump in the night. I mean, I wish we could have seen more and just had the camera linger on them longer without a ton of thrashing about. I think then they could have created an even more nasty atmosphere.
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Unfulfilled Potential: I also think at the heart of this, there is a genuinely upsetting premise with the plot. When we’re told of what’s actually going on, it’s dark and it should turn your stomach. And I actually think it would if the story had really built a foundation and then entranced us with the lore. And that’s really where the movie completely falls apart and fails to deliver on any of its premises.
Missed Opportunities: First, let’s look at the horror aspect. Now, I don’t think the PG-13 rating necessarily has to be a detractor from what’s created. We don’t need to see blood or gore in order to have shivers sent down our spines. Now, each time some tension begins to be established, it’s either ruined by an obvious jump scare that’s not jumpy, or the scene goes for a fake-out, which prematurely cuts any growing sensation of freakiness. And as we reach the climax of the movie, it’s too little too late. A switch gets flipped to create some chaos, but because everything has already been explained, anxiety and suspense, they’re dead. I did appreciate the urgency that the finale creates, and I think it could have worked. But there are plot conveniences that are then thrown in at the last moment, and those ruin the trajectory.
Underdeveloped Family Drama:
Now, I think the family drama could have been used creatively to not only instill doubt or maybe mistrust of characters, but also to suck us more into their dynamics and begin to care for the characters. We know that Wyatt Russell’s character of Ray is a baseball player who’s been taken out of the game because of some medical issues, and we’re briefly told that because he would get traded frequently, the kids had to be resilient and continue to make new friends at every new location. Now, I can buy this, but then there’s this aura that surrounds the son, Elliot. The family dots on him with a level of concern that it feels like he’s been massively abused by his dad in the past, and now the mom and his sister are especially watchful to make sure Elliot is safe. But we never get any inkling that anything untoward has gone down in the family, and I’m willing to accept that he’s just a shy kid who takes longer to establish friendships. But it still doesn’t explain the overprotective looks and pep talks that everybody pours on him. There’s also tension between Eve and Ray, which is understandable given their circumstances, but it’s never exploited to enhance the drama or the thrills and to showcase some of those emotions that are simmering below the surface. But to not use them or even explore them made me wonder why even include them at all.
Lack of World Building: Probably the most interesting portion of this story is the area that unfortunately gets the least amount of attention. That’s the lore that surrounds what’s happening at this family’s pool. We watch Eve carrying out some research on the history of their home and the surroundings, and in less than a minute, we’ve blown past everything that she uncovers, getting maybe just a couple of lines of dialogue from a phone call to explain the imagery. Then, after this, we are given a little more context, but it’s still very vague and ultimately extremely unsatisfying. I mean, the entire plot revolves around the lore and the legend of where their pool is. Nope, though. You know what? Apparently, the story felt that that info is just erroneous. I was genuinely intrigued when Condon’s character began to do her research. This was going to put backing to what’s occurring, even if it didn’t provide answers. I mean, just to have good development on what’s going on would have redeemed so much of the story and I think maybe made it way more enjoyable. Now, because the movie is only 98 minutes, more time could have been devoted to setting the stage for the history of the location, or if you cut out some of the family stuff that wasn’t executed well, and then use that time to tell the myth of all that’s occurred in the past. Come on. I know I’m harping on this, but it was such a frustrating moment in the film and I still can’t believe they only lackadaisically mentioned something so key to the plot.
Inconsistencies and Missed Focus: And one other thing that bugged me, especially because the lore wasn’t established well, is that when the movie’s called Night Swim, shouldn’t the events be relegated to the night? Well, they’re not. I mean, things happen in the day too. I guess, though, if you don’t establish rules, you can make crap up as you go along.
Conclusion:
So what this movie boils down to is a lot of missed opportunities. Night Swim has a dark and thrilling story at its core, but it fails to capitalize on any of its elements, from a lack of world-building through lore, ill-defined family dynamics, and less than freaky scares. This ends up more as a limp fish left in the sun, and it’s already stinking.
Content Advisory: There’s no sex or nudity, some profanity, and some violence. I give Night Swim one and a half out of five couches.
So what’s a horror or thriller that came out in January that you really enjoyed? Now for me, Underwater was a massive surprise. Let me know yours though in the comments below. If you enjoyed this review, please give it a Rating.
