Night Swim

Starring Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon, Night Swim is the latest creature to emerge from the Blumhouse lagoon. With its early scene of a little girl being demonically drawn into a backyard swimming pool, there are filmic references aplenty to drown you.

So, moving on from the initial bunny slippers that bob to the surface, Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon’s Ray and Eve Waller bring their two kids to view the derelict house and its much-unloved pool. Ray, it turns out, is a major league baseball star who’s been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and their doctor has recommended water therapy to help manage his disability. Perfect. Except this pool has clearly been made by the folks who built The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel.

Leaning heavily on Stephen King’s back catalogue of seminal scaries, the Night Swim then pivots into Pet Semetary territory. Whereas Ray is rejuvenated by the pool’s waters, Eve, his kids and any visiting neighbours are all at the very real risk of being sucked into the pool’s murky depths, never to be seen again. For those of you who have might fallen asleep in the back row, there’s also an exposition dump on hand in the shape of the house’s former owner – The pool has a gift to give but it demands a sacrifice in return.

Ok. Cue the Blumhouse staples of jump scares, music cues and people appearing behind closed doors and mirrors. People-being-dragged-on-their-stomachs have been given a rest this time out, but there is a red model speed boat on the pool’s surface in place of a red balloon and an eery voice coming from the drain to make you… groan before the screaming starts.

In the end, built on the foundation of a short film, Night Swim sadly just doesn’t have the legs to carry itself onto the dry land of future sequels.

Splish, splash, I wouldn’t be making a dash.