Review: ‘Night Swim’ Blu-ray Dives Into The Deep End Of Backyard Terror
by David Lewis
Blumhouse Poductions and James Wan‘s Atomic Monster, who previously teamed up for the Insidious films and last year’s M3GAN, take a dip into aquatic terror territory with Night Swim, now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal.
Former pro baseball player Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell), suffering from the early stages of a degenerative disease, moves with his wife (Oscar nominee Kerry Condon) and kids (Amelie Hoeferle and Gavin Warren) into a nice house with a backyard swimming pool in suburban Minneapolis. Deep under the surface of the pool lies an ancient something. It can provide healing to those in need, but it comes at a price. Ray soon discovers that taking a dip seems to give him newfound strength and helps him conquer his illness, while the rest of the family’s swim breaks plunge them into the depths of terror.
From The Creature From the Black Lagoon to Jaws to Dark Water, horror films have often harnessed the sinister side of water, and Night Swim does a nice job preying on those primal fears. And while the theatrical advertising made it look like a teens vs. pool ghosts romp, it’s more of a family vs. haunted property yarn in the vein of Poltergeist and The Conjuring.
Writer and first-time director Bryce McGuire keeps things moving briskly and knows when to inject some comic relief, lest the whole thing become too bogged down with repetitive shocks. When some silly twists threaten to sink the project, the able cast helps keep it afloat, with Condon even bringing gravity to potentially campy dialogue like, “I think we should put in a pool cover…”
The Blu-ray extras include an energetic audio commentary from McGuire, who discusses interesting technical details, the cast’s swimming abilities, influences both obvious (Steven Spielberg, Universal monster movies) and perhaps less so (The Natural, photographer Gregory Crewdson), and more. Three featurettes highlight Wan’s involvement as a producer, and the difficulties of shooting underwater, especially when it comes to elaborate prosthetic suits and makeup.
One complaint: Night Swim is adapted from a short film co-directed by McGuire, so the fact that it’s not included as a bonus feature seems like a missed opportunity.
