Night Swim
January 29, 2024Night Swim had a ton of potential but ultimately couldn’t keep its head above water.
I apologize for the previous sentence.
This movie is completely ruined by possession. I was immediately sympathetic to our main character once I heard one of the worst combination of letters in the medical field - MS. When presented with a pool that could heal all ailments, who the hell would want to give that up? I was hoping for a compelling story of a guy struggling with a tough choice between continuing to live with MS or drowning someone in his backyard. But all of that is ruined by having the pool possess the guy, taking away all internal conflict and basically absolving him of wrongdoing.
Just imagine the pool party scene without the possession. People drown surrounded by others quite frequently (and sadly) and I think it would have been a much better scene to see Ray watching people in the pool trying to figure out a way to get someone to drown without making it obvious that he was the culprit. That should have been why the pool party was suggested in the first place. The pool calls out to those with incurable ailments, knowing that they are more likely to consider the deal the pool offers compared to the able-bodied. So why choose these people specifically when the pool can just posses anybody willynilly???
When Eve goes to visit the previous tenant of the home, she should have just been a bitch who had a favorite child. Fuck the possession shit - she just preferred her son and thought he had more potential and chose to sacrifice her own daughter to the pool in order to heal him. Upon hearing this, Eve would’ve immediately thought about Ray’s relationship with their own children - Izzy obviously being preferred by Ray over poor Elliot, who isn’t as sporty.
There was a brief scene with the kids being aware of the pool’s healing nature, but hesitant to do anything about it because they see how much better their father is doing. I found all super interesting because now the family is also conflicted. Who wants to see their dad suffer when there is a way for him to escape it completely?
I actually laughed out loud at a few of the monsters
The moment Ray gets possessed at the pool party, the movie falls apart.
Side note: What the hell kind of pool party was this? How did you guys know so many people? Didn’t you just move here? It felt more like a public pool than a party in someone’s backyard. And how rude to refer to muscle man as steroid Shrek or whatever. He is a guest you presumably invited to your home and you’re going to refer to him like that? Terrible host. Ray wasn’t even possessed at that point - he was just an asshole.
4/10 for potential squandered. splish splash.