Night Swim (2024)-- My take on the movie with spoilers
Plot: A family moves into a new house, unaware of the evil in the swimming pool.
We have had haunted houses and possessed dolls, but did you ever think there could be a haunted pool?
The very premise of being terrorized in a pool is daunting because the pool is a place that is supposed to be fun, and relaxing. But imagine going for a swim only to realize that there is someone watching, waiting, hoping you make one little mistake that would have you in their grasp.
An eerie thought.
But that is just what it is. A thought. A limitation. If the pool is haunted, then simply don't swim in it.
Basing an entire movie on a swimming pool can be an arduous task. The idea was extended from a short horror movie of the same name.
In the 2014 version, Night Swim showed a woman swimming, well, at night, in her backyard pool. It is when she sees a figure near her that she panics. The figure is of a drenched woman. When the swimmer confronts her, she is pulled into the water. The lights go off and when they come on again, there is no one in sight. The woman has disappeared.
Now, that was a scary short film that pulls you into its narrative. As a full length feature, there are some obvious challenges and eventually, there is too much dependence on horror tropes than sticking with an original idea.
We have a new family moving into the house. There is a kid involved a past incident due to which the pool has become a haunting ground. There is a terrible legend attached to the haunted object, a climax where one of the main characters loses their life.
Check. Check and Check.
Night Swim comes from the merger of two powerful production houses that have previously brought us horror movie franchises like The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity, and Insidious.
Yes, Night Swim is the first film to come out of the Blumhouse and Atomic Monster Productions.
That means James Wan and Jason Blum has produced this horror movie which is unfortunately a total bore.
Considering two powerhouses were behind a horror movie, Night Swim should have been an exceptionally made horror movie. Instead, it brings nothing new to the genre. The scary parts are not scary and the story is dismal. There was potential but it fizzles out after a few minutes into the movie.
The actors struggle with a weak script and the reveal in the climax is forced and campy. Its almost comical when black water begins to stream down the woman's face.
There is a little bit of Amityville Horror and The Shining mixed in there as well.
Night Swim loses its way quickly. For a horror movie that is supposed to be about the pool, there is very little haunting going on in the pool.
And giving the pool a mystic element was just strange and ineffective.
Night Swim Movie Summary
The movie begins in 1992 when a young girl called Rebecca spots a toy floating in the swimming pool. Her brother Tommy is in bed and apparently suffering from some illness. Being the nice sister that she is, she goes to retrieve her brother's toy. An unseen force pulls her in and all we see is her slipper.
In the present, we meet the Waller family. Ray and Eve are parents to Izzy and Elliot.
Ray used to play baseball but had to retire because of an illness. The family is seeking a house with a pool so that Ray can swim and get better.
After they finish seeing the house that once belonged to Rebecca and Tommy, Ray gets pulled into the pool. He ends up at the hospital where he tells his wife that he likes the house since it has a pool and that they should move in soon.
The Wallers move in quickly but are tasked with cleaning the pool area before they can fill it with fresh water.
They are having a fun family time until Ray cuts his hand in the drain. Apparently, a blood sacrifice has been made.
The family decides to call the pool cleaning crew and is told that the water comes from a nearby spring.
The pool is filled with fresh clean water and Ray begins to swim in it. He feels himself getting better and stronger.
At night, Eve uses the pool as well while Ray decides not to join her. She thinks she sees Ray standing above her but when she comes up, there is nobody around.
This part was similar to the short movie on which this movie is based but unlike the original, the scene barely makes you shift in your seat.
And then of course the family pet goes missing. Like every family who moves into a new house in horror movies, the pet is the first one to go missing or become the first victim.
The family thinks the pool is risky without a cover and installs one.
Elliott goes to swim next and sees Rebecca handing him something. Suddenly he is grabbed and pulled deeper but he manages to escape that attack.
Elliott complains to his parents but as there is no evidence of anyone being around, no one believes him. Ray grows frustrated that someone is blaming his precious pool and lashes out at his son. The family is shocked by Ray's behavior.
Ray then goes with Elliot to a little league baseball game where he is asked to show his batting prowess. He fails at first but in the next swing, he manages to hit the ball into the lights. Everyone is shocked but cheers for him.
At night (because the movie is called Night Swim, remember?), Izzy has invited her boyfriend to swim with her and they play Marco Polo.
Izzy can't find her boyfriend and something pulls her underwater. She sees a creepy figure but manages to escape. Her boyfriend tells her that she was underwater for only a few seconds but senses that she is rattled and leaves, but not before kissing her.
Elliot discusses with his sister that there is something creepy going on with the pool.
Later, the family is holding a party when the realtor makes an appearance solely to reveal the house's dark past and Rebecca's death in the pool. Apparently none of the owners after that family used the pool. But they paid full amount for a house with a pool?
Ray plays a game with a kid in the pool and is seemingly possessed by a mist. The kid begins to drown but no one blames Ray because he falls unconscious again.
Eve grows concerned with her husband's behavior and finally does some digging into Rebecca's family.
She finds her mother who reveals a shocking secret. Her son Tommy was ill and to heal him, she sacrificed her daughter to the entity that lives in that special spring water the pool is filled with.
Eve is horrified that a mother would do such a thing but before she can go on accusing her, the mother's tears turn black, implying that she is under the influence of the ancient entity controlling the pool water.
Eve begins to wonder if Ray made a similar deal and runs home.
NIGHT SWIM Ending Explained
There is utter chaos at home.
Elliot thinks he heard his cat by the pool but ends up falling in. The cover begins to slide over him to trap him.
Ray grows violent just like in The Shining and Amityville Horror and goes after Izzy.
Eve arrives in time to save Elliot but ends up being pulled into the water by the demons in the water. She manages to escape and brings out Elliot although he is unconscious.
Izzy smacks her father with the baseball bat and escapes.
The family then tries to get Ray to fight the demons controlling him and remind him of their love. It seems to work as he pukes black stuff.
Elliot awakens but suffers because of the pool water entities. Ray realizes that a deal was made with them and they require a sacrifice. And so he offers himself instead.
Elliot is immediately healed.
The family decides to stay on. Ray may be dead but they understand that the threat of the pool still remains and they don't want anyone else to suffer through what they went through.
Also, all their money is tied up in the house and they can't leave at the moment, can they?
The remaining family members fill up the pool with dirt so that it is never used again. Hopefully, they blocked the source of the water as well.
The movie ends.
Night Swim is unable to capture the same tension as the short it was adapted from. It could have been a lot better considering the premise but it ends up being a dull supernatural tale with nothing new to offer.
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