Night Swim

It opts, in turn, for a Hollywood-esque correct esthetic, lacking in surprises and assuming an air of stubborn solemnity. [Full review in Spanish]

Night Swim might be the first movie to star a haunted pool, but its story beats are interchangeable with any other horror movie in the microgenre of kindly fathers turning mean after a real estate–based possession.

There comes a point where it almost feels as if McGuire was making it up as he went along. So little of this thriller make sense that it’s impossible for it to generate a lasting emotional impact.

McGuire, who executed a trial run of this concept with a 2014 short film, knows exactly what he’s doing, scene after scene, especially when it comes to the deliciously sadistic grammar of suspense.

Night Swim eventually runs out of places to go, but not before it weds some sneaky character development to a few good, solid jump moments. It might not find an audience, but it deserves one.

Night Swim effectively exploits primal fears around water, but its comedy and horror chops aren’t strong enough to keep it from drowning in its more clichéd elements.

Night Swim is a shallow genre exercise that goes in one ear, out the other.

The film doesn’t know what to add to its premise to take the story somewhere that doesn’t feel cliché or overdone.

Imagine the pool scene from Poltergeist stretched to a hundred minutes long... none of it as interesting as the original short... the title would have made more sense to just call it Haunted Swimming Pool.

It’s a full-length goofball horror concoction blending The Natural, Faust, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Amityville Horror and the swimming-pool game Marco Polo.