Film: Night Swim
Cast: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle
Director: Bryce McGuire
Rating: 2/5
Runtime: 98 min

The first horror movie to be released this new year, “ Night Swim” has a novel premise but unfortunately the director and team of creators are unable to take the story to any great level of horror.

Produced by James Wan and Blumhouse, Night Swim is written and directed by Bryce McGuire, who this feature debut upon a short film he made ten years ago with Rod Blackhurst. The interesting thing here is that it`s about a pool that’s haunted. Other than that intriguing fact, there’s little here that would interest the horror fan. The mood is pretty much sedate and becomes unsettling only when there’s something about to happen. McGuire establishes faint tension and makes fairly good use of sound design and camera angles. Upside-down shots, reflections, bright images of clouds and blue sky shining on the leaf-strewn pool cover, seem inviting, but there’s also a hint of something ominous lurking behind it all. The steady gurgling of the filter and the groan of the diving board suggest dangers yet to come.