Starring Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon

Written & Directed by Bryce McGuire

Blumhouse, in cinemas

A retired baseball player with Multiple Sclerosis buys a house with a swimming pool, whose waters come from natural springs, reputedly with healing powers – or possibly not…

There are some perfectly cogent reasons to be sniffy about this latest chiller from the Blumhouse horror stable, not least the B-movie premise. A haunted swimming pool? Yes, it is as daft as it sounds. How about the B-movie acting? Well, to be fair some of the cast are quite good, namely Kerry Condon and the two young actors playing her children, Gavin Warren and Amélie Hoeferle – but as for the rest… not so much. Then there are the laugh-out-loud submarine ghouls. They are ridiculous. How about the predictable final act, which is essentially The Shining in swimsuits with added chlorine? And as for the dodgy ethnic stereotyping…

All of these are legitimate criticisms; however, having said all that, Night Swim is actually rather enjoyable.

Yes, the final act is wearyingly derivative, but up until that point the story builds well, and there are moments where the idea of a haunted swimming pool is nowhere near as ridiculous as the elevator pitch might imply. The characters are well motivated and the script is actually pretty good, with some above average dialogue. There’s even a soupçon of nuance for good measure. Aside from the lamentable monsters, the movie looks great with elegant cinematography from Charlie Sarroff.

It’s actually quite scary at times – when it remembers that the best horror always comes from the fears, contradictions and conflicts within the characters themselves, not from dodgy VFX.

As for the iffy ethnic stereotyping, I’m not sure there’s an excuse for that. Bryce McGuire ought to know better really. It doesn’t serve any particular purpose.

Verdict: Night Swim is a perfectly decent, if disposable, B-movie chiller, which is a lot more entertaining than its hokey set-up might suggest. Worth a dip if you’ve nothing better to do. 6/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com