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Night Swim, the January 2024 horror movie produced by Blumhouse, stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon as Ray and Eve Waller, a married couple who move into a house with a haunted pool. Blumhouse is known for producing great horror movies that tell unique stories, and since the action of Night Swim mostly takes place in a pool, the movie has a clever and memorable setting.
Neither Russell nor Condon is known for starring in horror movies. Although Russell starred in the 2021 thriller The Woman in the Window, he mostly sticks to comedies like Ingrid Goes West and 22 Jump Street. Condon has starred in Marvel projects and also serious dramas such as The Banshees of Inisherin. The actors give strong performances in Night Swim, and anyone who likes entertaining horror films that are on the silly side will enjoy it. Night Swim wraps up its water-based story with an ending that feels clear-cut and ties up any loose ends.
How Does Night Swim End?
At the end of Night Swim, the mysterious entity goes after Ray and Eve's children Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle) and Elliot (Gavin Warren) and also takes over Ray. Izzy uses a baseball bat to attack the entity, which works well and allows Ray to return to his regular human self. Ray decides that he must die to save his family because the entity has taken charge of Elliot. While Ray loved being in the pool because he thought that he was healing, he realizes that he was being possessed this entire time. Like the ending of the Blumhouse horror movie M3GAN, the ending of Night Swim is a little unnerving but is also entertaining and campy.
Night Swim Director | Bryce McGuire |
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Writer | Bryce McGuire |
Cast Members | Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Gavin Warren, Amélie Hoeferle |
Release Date | January 5th, 2024 |
Runtime | 98 minutes |
Metacritic Score | 43 |
Where To Watch | not available to stream yet |
From the beginning of Night Swim, Eve has been concerned about keeping her kids safe from the pool, and she saves her son Elliot at the end of the movie. A spirit named Rebecca Fuller (Ayazhan Dalabayeva) helps her get out of the pool, which doesn't seem to have a bottom anymore, and Eve can get her kids to safety. Rebecca was a child living in the house with her family and the entity killed her.
Before the end credits roll, audiences learn that instead of moving away, Eve and her children feel that the best way to stop the entity from hurting others is to call this place their home forever. Eve hires someone to close up the pool so the entity can't hurt her or her family anymore. When watching Night Swim, horror fans might be reminded of the entity in It Follows, which has a more ambiguous ending. The end of Night Swim suggests that the evil entity can't attack anyone now.
What Is Night Swim About?
Night Swim is about the Waller family who move to a new house after Ray, who has multiple sclerosis, isn't able to play baseball anymore. It's clear from the start that something is wrong with the pool. The pool fills up by itself using a spring that is nearby and underground, and it seems to have a mysterious presence. Ray is happy with his new environment as he spends time in the pool and seems to heal, but it's obvious that he is acting differently. Night Swim is an enjoyable addition to the list of most anticipated 2024 horror movies as it doesn't take itself too seriously. The entity seems silly at times, but that's the point.
Wyatt Russell's performance is what makes Night Swim entertaining. Bryce McGuire, the director of Night Swim, spoke to Slash Film about the actor and said he was thinking about Russell's Black Mirror episode "Playtest" when working with him. McGuire said:
"Well, Wyatt and I were so locked in on that tone from the beginning, from the first conversation. I'd seen him in 'Black Mirror,' so I'd seen him just go psycho mode. I knew that he could do that really, really well. And he likes going crazy like that. That's just so in his wheelhouse. And I think, from there, there's a little bit of having fun with the absurdity of the premise, that it is fun."
Night Swim is based on the short film of the same name. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, McGuire talked about the backstory of the movie. He answered a question about filming Night Swim's short film in a pool owned by Michelle Branch. He explained:
"No, she’s actually kind of a horror fan, so she got a kick out of it. She’s a friend of the co-director of the short, Rod Blackhurst, who is a great filmmaker in his own right. We just liked her pool, and she was game. She thought that was cool that we had ruined her swimming pool forever. By the way, in the short film, that’s Michelle Branch’s cat who makes an appearance."
Night Swim Short Film |
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directed by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire |
written by Bryce McGuire |
starring Margot and Megalyn Echikunwoke |
released in 2014 |
What Is Night Swim's Rotten Tomatoes Score?
Night Swim's Rotten Tomatoes score is very low. The movie has a 25% rating on the Tomatometer and a 42% Audience Score. Several critics whose reviews are featured on the website agreed that Night Swim is too goofy to be terrifying. Others said that it's a middle-of-the-road kind of story. Although a 25% Rotten Tomatoes rating is low, it's not as low as the Blumhouse horror movies with ratings under 10%. Even though it didn't rank very highly with critics, Night Swim is still a fun addition to Blumhouse's growing list of horror films.