Night Swim Spoiler Review: Don't Dive In This Stale Pool

Uncooked horror drama with a lack of emotion, jump scares, and a rushed and cliche third act.

⭐⭐

Director: Bryce McGuire

Writer: Bryce McGuire and Rod Blackhurst

Cinematography: Charlie Sarroff

Production Houses: Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Productions

Main Cast:

Wyatt Russell as Ray Waller

Kerry Condon as Eve Waller

Gavin Warren as Elliot Waller

Amélie Hoeferle as Izzy Waller

Release Date: January 5, 2024 (USA)

Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Night Swim Synopsis

Night Swim is a 2024 supernatural horror film that follows the story of the Waller family moving into a new home with a backyard swimming pool that turns out to be haunted. The film is produced by James Wan's Atomic Monster company and Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions.

Night Swim Plot Summary (Spoiler Ahead)

In 1992, a tragic event occurred when a young girl went to retrieve a toy boat belonging to her terminally ill brother from their family pool. As she reached for the boat, an unseen force pulled her underwater, drowning her.

Years later, in the present day, the Waller family is searching for a new home after Ray Waller, the family's patriarch, is forced to retire from his baseball career due to an illness. They come across the former residence of the Fuller family, which has a backyard swimming pool that is in perfect condition.

Ray accidentally scratches his hand on a sharp object as he works to clear out the pool. The family calls in a pool maintenance crew to inspect the pool, and they discover that the pool is self-sustaining, drawing its water from an underground spring in the area.

As Ray spends more time in the pool for his physical therapy, his illness appears to go into remission. However, his wife Eve grows concerned about the changes she sees in her husband, and their children, Izzy and Elliot, report being attacked by something in the pool. The family's cat also goes missing.

During a party, the real estate agent informs Eve about the tragic drowning of the Fuller family's daughter, Rebecca, in the pool before the Wallers bought the house. This revelation comes after Ray seemingly forces a child underwater and almost drowns himself, which is later attributed to a side effect of his illness.

Determined to learn more, Eve tracks down the Fuller family and meets with Kay, Rebecca's mother. Kay explains that the water in the pool was once part of a healing spring, but to use its healing powers, a sacrifice must be made to the pool's mysterious creature. Kay was compelled to sacrifice Rebecca to the pool to heal her brother Tommy's illness.

Realizing that Ray's miraculous recovery is due to the pool's healing powers, Eve is horrified to learn that the pool now demands Elliot as a sacrifice. The family must confront the pool's sinister nature and find a way to break its hold on their lives before it's too late.

Eve returns to the house to find that Ray is under the control of the pool's sinister entity. The entity traps Elliot in the pool, and Eve desperately tries to save her son while Izzy confronts the entity that has possessed her father. In a desperate attempt to free her father, Izzy attacks him with a baseball bat.

Eve manages to retrieve Elliot from the pool, and with the help of Rebecca's spirit, they make it back to the surface. Ray regains control of himself after seeing his children in danger, and to save them from the entity's attacks, he sacrifices himself to the pool.

Determined to prevent anyone else from falling victim to the pool's sinister entity, Eve, Izzy, and Elliot decide to remain in the house and make arrangements to fill the pool. By doing so, they hope to end the nightmare and protect others from the pool's dark powers.

Night Swim Ending Explained

In the thrilling conclusion of Night Swim, the Waller family faces the terrifying truth about their backyard pool and the supernatural forces lurking within. As Ray's health mysteriously improves while swimming, the family learns that the pool is connected to an ancient underground spring with sinister powers.

The pool's dark influence demands sacrifices in exchange for granting wishes, and Ray ultimately sacrifices himself to save his son Elliot from becoming the next victim. The family decides to remain in the house, sealing the pool to prevent further calamity.

The ending of Night Swim emphasizes the importance of family and the consequences of getting what you want. It highlights the dangers of being consumed by the past and the need to embrace the present. While the film leaves the door open for a sequel, the true origins of the water and its powers remain a mystery.

Night Swim Review (Our Verdict)

Night Swim is just a simple, average horror movie with a rushed third act and very little character development. The actors' performance is good, but the movie plot needs to create more excitement. The overall concept and idea of a haunted swimming pool is scary, but there are few jump scares in the movie.

The movie is just a simple, generic horror movie with a cliche ending. There is no conclusion or answer to the question regarding the backstory of the water in the pool or the ghostly water people. But there is something for horror fans if you are watching the movie in the theatre, as it has an impressive sound design. There is potential for a sequel if they get better writers and improve storytelling.