Why Night Swim is a drowning disaster.
Had little hope for Night Swim but here is why the film only partially worked.
The concept of Night Swim shamefully lured me into watching this film. A family move into a new place and discover that something is haunting the pool. It's a tad overused narrative but with the twist of the swimming pool and the short film being solid, it was maybe naive to believe that maybe there was potential. This is somewhat of a review but I wanted to pinpoint exactly why this film never worked out.
This film is rated a 15 in the UK (understand is PG-13 in the US) but I was expecting a little more horror and with some eavesdropping from other people behind me, so did my audience. It's a film that just lacked scares but more importantly, my first point is poor jumpscares. Vulture states that a jumpscare is “creating a sense in the audience that something is going to come and then subverting that expectation in some way so that when it does come, it’s unexpected” (Murthi,2022.) To me, it makes sense as when watching Night Swim, when something is going to come then it comes without any subverting…I believe anyway. A hand came out, a possessed person appearing suddenly, it was just obvious what was going to happen without any big shocks. A recent good jumpscare film that is having a sequel in 2024 is Smile. This film nails its jumpscares and made me cope with them a little more as it kept me on the edge of my seat, every time I would leap up in horror. In comparison, Night Swim, you sensed when the jumpscare would be. While it's also worth noting you don't need jump scares to be horrifying with films like Talk To Me displaying horror without causing you to jump. I understand that horror is different for everyone and some may jump but it just lacked a little especially if it's going for jumpscares route.
Now I heard Spookyastronaughts discuss this and I have to agree if you're not scared of something like a swimming pool then this film will not terrify you. They discuss in the behind-the-scenes video (so many times) the dangers of water and the unknown but that never affected me when inside a swimming pool but I see the point when taking it into an open water situation. There is a phobia of water (aquaphobia) but the only stat I have seen relating somewhat to this fear is that 46% of adults are afraid of water over their heads in pools (Swimwell,2021.) I am not saying people are not terrified of swimming pools but it just seems the majority find this idea more insane which then lowers the scaryness impact of the film.
Let’s talk about the format of this film. To me, it finds an unusual ground of borrowing from so many films and trying way too much. A scene that showcased covering too much, was when the family is at baseball practice and the dad goes in for a hit. The sequence of events that transpired just melted my mind as I was processing what the hell was going on…it was bad. Maybe it’s a case of seeing many horror movies (I’m not too fond of horror movies so I doubt it) but it went for typical horror conventions (for example family moving, something is haunted and let’s visit someone else who experienced the same thing…what can go wrong.) Forbes states that the “concept is original, it has all the jump scares, narrative beats, and classic tropes that generations of fans have come to expect” (Thompson,2024.) This is what many will experience, its concept certainly draws many to watch but then it falls when trying to pursue an interesting unexpected story.
The next point is the entity itself. I could argue that you hardly see it which is great (gives a sense of unease) but when you do it is not the scariest entity I have seen in a horror film. I am mainly baffled by what the hell it is. It tries too hard, as the entity can possess people, it needs a sacrifice, causes illusions, and gives you superpowers (good baseball skills) and more. I wished it just stuck to a creepy entity that kills instead of just trying so much with it.
I feel like I have to somewhat discuss what works and it's the cinematography, there are certainly a few shots that caught my attention throughout the movie. With a horror centred around the pool, it takes full advantage of exploring the deep end of the pool and the reflections that water causes. The concept alone I still feel like is pretty interesting just a shame everything around the concept. I feel like this film would work well as a collection of horror shorts all centred around the pool instead of an insane boring script that tries to stretch out and explain the content. It's originally from a short film and maybe some films are better suited for that as this could have been a little series of scary pool moments or just hired a better writer for the film?
In conclusion, the film Night Swim started the year 2024 with a sense of dread about what lies in store for films. The signs were there with it being a January horror film (with M3gan (in most territories) being a spark of hope but it was not meant to be.) You go into these films, expecting just outlandish scares and fun with a concept like this but it failed. When it finds its way to streaming then maybe once you've finished everything else on your watchlist then is it (just the slightest bit) worth checking out.
References
Murthi, Vikram. (2022). The Jump Scare Lives. Available from: https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/how-to-build-a-jump-scare-in-modern-horror-movies.html. [Accessed: 8/1/2024].
Swimwelll.(2021). Overcoming Fear of Swimming and Open Water. Available from: https://www.swimwell.com.au/single-post/overcoming-fear-of-swimming-and-open-water. [Accessed: 9/1/2024].. Available from: https://www.swimwell.com.au/single-post/overcoming-fear-of-swimming-and-open-water. [Accessed: 9/1/2024].
Thompson, Simon. (2024). The Number Of Nerdy Nods And Horror Homages In ‘Night Swim’ Is Scary. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2024/01/04/the-number-of-nerdy-nods-and-horror-homages-in-night-swim-is-scary/. [Accessed: 9/1/2024].