Mini-review: Night Swim

A lot of horror builds off the question of “what if the thing that can fulfill your dreams demands too high a price?” The classic short story “The Monkey’s Paw” did it. So did Stephen King’s Pet “Semetery.”

And so does “Night Swim”, a little unpolished gem that popped up on my Amazon feed.

In the film, Ray Waller, a former pro baseball player sidelined by MS, moves his family into a new house with a swimming pool. At first, it seems like the pool’s water has regenerative properties, forcing his disease into remission. But does this unexplainable miracle come at a cost? Perhaps a remittance that must be paid in blood?

It does not, it turns out. Ray and his family thrive and everyone lives happily ever after.

I jest; you know the answer to the question.

The movie offers an effectively creepy first half, taking advantage of the natural blurriness that comes with the experience of looking through water. (“What’s down there?”) And “Night Swim” earns bonus points for utilizing one of my favorite suspense-building techniques: placing a sharp object, pointy side up, into a scene, just waiting for a character to step on it. (One of the “Final Destination” films pulled this off brilliantly.)

The score amps up the nerves by pairing tense moments with a bunch of violins playing every note possible, all at once. (I think it was Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood who popularized this technique with his score to “There Will Be Blood.”

But (there’s always a but), the movie falls into predictability in the last half. I like surprises and twists and this story felt like a Greek tragedy with its inevitability.

Cheeseball, CGI “scary” faces didn’t help.

If you’re a newer horror movie fan, this one might work you. If you’re a jaded “seen it all” cynic like me, well, go in with your expectations set.

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