Last year, Blumhouse defied convention by dropping the surprise horror hit M3GAn during the month of January, which is generally a dumping ground for films. The studio did not pull off the same trick with Night Swim.
The new horror film starring Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon is getting soaked in reviews that were left underwhelmed by this tale of a haunted swimming pool. (Yup, you read that right.) The premise was already wobbly to begin with, and Night Swim just doesn’t have the buoyancy to keep the whole thing from capsizing into boredom.
You can see what the critics are saying below:
Owen Gleiberman, Variety:
This one, waterlogged as it is, should have been called “The Aquatyville Horror,” and some might consider that a recommendation. But I never cared for the “Amityville” movies, with their “ominous” buzzing flies and their grab-bag atmosphere of threadbare haunted trickery. The title of “Night Swim” suggests the heightened sensual atmosphere of a college pool party, and that’s probably what it should have been: a slasher film set in the 12-foot deep. Instead, it’s a family horror movie, and this is one case where you really feel the PG-13-ness of it all.
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter:
The short that provided this film’s inspiration had a running time of under four minutes, which sounds exactly right. Unfortunately, the feature version runs 98 minutes, its simple premise gussied up with a backstory mythology that isn’t likely to make Stephen King green with envy. And when the most chilling line in a movie is “There’s something wrong with that pool!” it’s all too easy to imagine the barbs on a future episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Benjamin Lee, The Guardian:
Yet Night Swim, a film about an evil swimming pool, is no M3gan and while not as atrocious as these first week frighteners can often be, it’s akin to a cold splash of water in the face, an immediate return to the ho-hum norm of before. It’s the sort of bottom-shelf concept that feels more at home in the 80s, alongside Blood Beach, Death Bed and Killer Workout and there’s not not some trashy fun to be squeezed out of such a lurid premise. Yet unlike those films, it’s accompanied by an uncomfortably stony face, silliness taken with far more seriousness than it deserves, quickly sinking the whole thing further by the minute.
Kristy Puchko, Mashable:
There’s the promise that Night Swim might right itself and plunge into fun and thrills. Spoilers: It won’t. Pulling inspiration from a flood of uniquely terrifying movies, Night Swim wades into horror with the right moves but no fluidity in how they come together. While it has splashes of fun, it’s ultimately a lazy effort that feels totally disposable.
Alison Foreman, IndieWire:
Without believable characters to root for or interesting design choices to distract from the lacking heart, “Night Swim” could have found its saving grace in an engaging, tightly constructed puzzle box nightmare. Unfortunately, McGuire muddies his brilliant concept with contradicting rules, unclear symbolism, and the sincerely outrageous decision to allow a huge portion of his movie’s best moments to take place during THE DAY. In the suffocating shadow of “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” one could theoretically argue that “Night Swim” would have been better with the kids as the main protagonists.
Night Swim dives into theaters on January 5, 2024.
Source: https://uproxx.com/movies/night-swim-reviews-blumhouse/