Do new year releases carry the same stigma they did 10 years ago? Once upon a time, a January release for a horror film was a fate worse than death. But in recent years, horror has proven itself to be calendar agonistic, with one of 2023’s best horror films – fellow Blumhouse feature M3GAN –dropping mere days after the new year. So here’s the good news: Bryce McGuire’s Night Swim may lack the high-end weirdness of a murderous robot doll, but it still keeps its head above the historically choppy waters of January releases.
After his career as a baseball player is cut short by illness, Ray Waller (Russell) and wife Eve (Condon) agree the time has come to say goodbye to life on the road. When Ray finds a home in a quiet neighborhood with a full-sized pool, perfect for low-impact exercises and physical rehabilitation, the family embraces their new togetherness and works to put down roots. But before long, the family comes to realize that their pool is home to an ancient force – one that predates the very neighborhood that has built up around it. Soon that force has the family firmly in its clutches.
People who analyze sports prospects for a living (and Night Swim is the rare film to combine baseball and horror in equal measure) often refer to a certain type of player as low floor, high ceiling. These are prospects who, if everything breaks as expected, are likely to become a valuable contributor despite showing little promise of becoming a star. They do a few things well but nothing great; that feels like an apt description of Night Swim, a movie that neither transcends its subject matter nor slips entirely into the worst type of horror conventions.
There are flashes of promise throughout Night Swim. Obviously, the film is anchored by a collection of standout performances – Kerry Condon is the gift that keeps on giving – but McGuire also demonstrates a keen eye for underwater photography. When the film goes off the (literal) deep end, McGuire and crew create a deep abyss of dark and unknowable horrors, playing with the physical space of the pool to find real darkness and beauty in the underwater sequences. Those worried that the “killer pool” movie would be populated with only underwater jump scares can rest easy, as there’s a touch of Gore Verbinski to what McGuire brings as a director.
And yet, the film seems afraid to embrace its inner weirdness. One standout scene involves the previous owner of the home, who shares the surprisingly effective mythology behind the pool and provides touches of folk horror that kick Night Swim into a higher gear. Unfortunately, these dalliances with the bizarre never quite last long enough to raise the ceiling for the film. Night Swim does get bonus points – all the bonus points in the world, in fact – for avoiding most of the now-cliches of the current mode of tragedy horror, but there’s just a sense here that there might’ve been a more ambitious film on the page.
But just like no sports team can be populated entirely by superstars, there’s certainly a place for high-floor horror that understands its audience, works within the confines of its PG-13 rating, and provides just enough visual and storytelling variety to keep the audience satisfied. It may be damning with faint praise to describe Night Swim as a solid movie, but horror fans know just how dark and deep the bottoms of their genre can be. We’ll take what McGuire has to offer every day of the week.
This article appears in January 12 • 2024.