DVD Corner

Night Swim Blu-ray Review

“Night Swim” sinks. 

Based on the short film by Bryce McGuire and Rod Blackhurst, 2024’s “Night Swim” is a feature-length version written and directed by Bryce McGuire. The horror film begins in 1992 where a young girl (Rebecca) disappears in the backyard pool due to unseen forces. The story jumps ahead to present day in which the Waller family (comprised of a former MLB player named Ray, his wife Eve and their 2 children Izzy and Elliot) move into the same house that Rebecca once did. As the family soon discovers, something is very off about this pool. Ray seems to be healing from the water and the other family members have their own eerie experiences in seeing people and dead people that aren’t there. Sensing something is very off about this pool, Eve learns about its dark history and fears her family is in great peril.

For those hoping for another film to make you afraid to go in the water ala “Jaws,” “Night Swim” will definitely not have that same effect. The notion of a haunted pool may be ripe with potential, but this collaboration between horror giants Blumhouse (Jason Blum) and Atomic Monster Productions (James Wan) yields murky results.

“Night Swim” starts off promising enough with creepy forces within the pool, but Bryce McGuire dilutes the spooky tale with a goofy backstory involving magic spring water, sacrifices, and possessions that feel like a big “The Shining” rip-off. The mixture of pitiful CGI and a lack of creepy sequences doesn’t help the movie any. Had the story just stuck to entities within the pool it might have been more eerie. There are moments with ghostly encounters where the movie is effective. Sadly, those moments are few and far between. 

As disposable as “Night Swim” is, stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon give it their all here. Russell gives the film some much needed characterization as a former ball player struggling to move on from the past. Kerry Condon (who recently crushed it in “The Banshees Of Inisherin”) deserves way better than this bland role. Her talents go to waste here.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? The horror film gets a crisp hi-def transfer.

Audio Track: 7.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? An effective 7.1 track through and through.

Extras:
* DVD copy
* Digital copy
* Commentary by director and co-writer Bryce McGuire
* “Masters Of Fear” is about Atomic Monster and Blumhouse collaborating on this project.
* “Demons From The Depths” about the supernatural forces in the film.
* “Into The Deep” is about the fears and pool concept of the film.
* “Marco Polo” covers the sequence.

April 7, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Blumhouse, Haunted Pool, Horror Movie, Night Swim Blu-ray Review, Night Swim Movie, Wyatt Russell