IR Film Review: NIGHT SWIM [Blumhouse/Universal]

The context of "Night Swim" bathed in the idea of a haunted pool has some perspective, especially when integrated to the thoughts of something like "It" where a dark presence seeks to control while also understand the notion of sacrifice that needs to be made. The build of the film here seeks to create an aspect of lulling the audience into the notion that something is trying to be saved versus that being taken away. Wyatt Russell plays an disabled baseball player named Ray Waller who is seeking to try and find a new life after an MS diagnosis cuts short his career and therefore his identity. The path and journey of the character is a heartbreaking one but the mythology needed a little more depth and strength behind it to make it work. The antagonist has a certain basis of darkness but the redemptive side, especially with one of the earlier victims is a little murky.

Kerry Condon, fresh off of "The Banshees Of Inishirin" has a complex but almost thankless job as the wife of Waller and mother to their two children. She looks to deconstruct what is going on, especially with the mother of a previous occupant. The idea behind the concept is the ability to grant a wish per se but also to take something away (much like the Billy Goat Gruff fable). This of course makes sense to Waller's character but the push and pull of the decision never quite comes to bear on him in his right mental state. It is more a light switch that just goes on and off which makes the underlying empathy that Russell built in the beginning evaporate a little too quickly.

The children are disconnected from their father but try their best even though the family itself is a little listless in terms of what their existence means. A pool party isolates them even more which sets up a slight pariah complex. When the eventual horror sets in, it almost happens too late to be a righteous McGuffin. A taped video redeems some of this but the sacrifice is almost too readily accepted by those involved without any reciprciatin by law enforcement, especially for such a well known person in a small town. "Night Swim" starts off with a fairly surface concept and does show some good potential in terms of character development but never quite delivers across the board. C

By Tim Wassberg