On paper, the premise of the movie seems interesting, and exciting. But, the sentence written at the top, is very accurate. As unfortunately, the film lacks any thrill and horror, and leans into the family dynamic more. Which is interesting in itself, it just doesn't carry the weight of the other stuff very well. And the backstory could have been interesting, but doesn't get enough time on screen. As it Comes and goes so fast which was disappointing. Which leaves us with a half-baked film which could have been more, But let's see what works and doesn't in particular work with Night Swim.
The Backstory,
Now I am a sucker for movies/TV Shows when they add some backstory, which is a good and bad thing inside the movie, as mentioned. So, the Pool has had a dark secret, lurking in it's depths. And people seem to be disappearing. A young daughter goes missing. She is devoured by the Water itself, after a boat pops up out of nowhere. She goes and grabs it, and then pulled by something. As you can see by the description the film has a good balance of Scares and thrills, which is the main aim of the movie. However, the dates of the missing people come and go so quick when it would've been better had it been more developed. Especially when she's talking to the mother of the young child.
Family Dynamic,
The family dynamic is very interesting here, you've got a bit of history about them and their recent house they brought also has some history to it as well. Their Dad used to play cricket, and we see that he used to be a pro. Whilst, his son is now also on the cricket team. And their daughter is now trying out for the swimming team at school. They also tell us that they move quite alot, so when some strange stuff happening in the pool, the kids try their best to not unsettle their mother and father, which would then result in them having to leave to go elsewhere if this did happen.
The Swimming pool,
I leave myself wondering though, why do they stay? And surely they can't be that stupid. Weird incidents happen, and they seem to brush it aside as just an accident, I mean Especially the father who even cuts his hand. And doesn't seem to think much of it. But maybe I'm thinking to hardly about it, it's only a film after all. I like how one has to be taken by the pool, to heal someone.
The Father,
Who has a condition, and that is he needs crutches to walk. But In order to heal, as ridiculous as this may seem, he has to let one of his family members die, so he then in return can be heald. It's a weird way to do that sort of thing, but it's interesting to see what might happen next. And that's what's been going on, the young daughter that we see at the start of the film has to take the sacrifice, in order to save her little brother who is about to die if he doesn't get the right treatment.
What did it get wrong/Right,
The film needed more backstory in my opinion, it felt rushed and pretty underwhelming how they executed it, so I'd say this is something the producers got wrong. The family dynamic is very well thought out and the fact they like some type of sports gives them an interesting layer of character growth and makes the movie slightly more realistic in it's approach. So this is something they get right. The reason why the lady had black mush come out of her, I'd of liked to of known how and why that came about, and how does it turn people into some kind of demon. It has me raising questions rather then awnsers, so they got this wrong In my eyes. So overall, it could have been better in terms of thrills and scary scenes. As it's very family oriented. Which doesn't give enough time for it's Horror or thriller moments.
Would I recommend this film?
Unless you Like films to do with backstory and water like Jaws, then no, not particularly. 4/10.
The Backstory,
Now I am a sucker for movies/TV Shows when they add some backstory, which is a good and bad thing inside the movie, as mentioned. So, the Pool has had a dark secret, lurking in it's depths. And people seem to be disappearing. A young daughter goes missing. She is devoured by the Water itself, after a boat pops up out of nowhere. She goes and grabs it, and then pulled by something. As you can see by the description the film has a good balance of Scares and thrills, which is the main aim of the movie. However, the dates of the missing people come and go so quick when it would've been better had it been more developed. Especially when she's talking to the mother of the young child.
Family Dynamic,
The family dynamic is very interesting here, you've got a bit of history about them and their recent house they brought also has some history to it as well. Their Dad used to play cricket, and we see that he used to be a pro. Whilst, his son is now also on the cricket team. And their daughter is now trying out for the swimming team at school. They also tell us that they move quite alot, so when some strange stuff happening in the pool, the kids try their best to not unsettle their mother and father, which would then result in them having to leave to go elsewhere if this did happen.
The Swimming pool,
I leave myself wondering though, why do they stay? And surely they can't be that stupid. Weird incidents happen, and they seem to brush it aside as just an accident, I mean Especially the father who even cuts his hand. And doesn't seem to think much of it. But maybe I'm thinking to hardly about it, it's only a film after all. I like how one has to be taken by the pool, to heal someone.
The Father,
Who has a condition, and that is he needs crutches to walk. But In order to heal, as ridiculous as this may seem, he has to let one of his family members die, so he then in return can be heald. It's a weird way to do that sort of thing, but it's interesting to see what might happen next. And that's what's been going on, the young daughter that we see at the start of the film has to take the sacrifice, in order to save her little brother who is about to die if he doesn't get the right treatment.
What did it get wrong/Right,
The film needed more backstory in my opinion, it felt rushed and pretty underwhelming how they executed it, so I'd say this is something the producers got wrong. The family dynamic is very well thought out and the fact they like some type of sports gives them an interesting layer of character growth and makes the movie slightly more realistic in it's approach. So this is something they get right. The reason why the lady had black mush come out of her, I'd of liked to of known how and why that came about, and how does it turn people into some kind of demon. It has me raising questions rather then awnsers, so they got this wrong In my eyes. So overall, it could have been better in terms of thrills and scary scenes. As it's very family oriented. Which doesn't give enough time for it's Horror or thriller moments.
Would I recommend this film?
Unless you Like films to do with backstory and water like Jaws, then no, not particularly. 4/10.