Night Swim (2024)
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A suburban family discovers that their new backyard swimming pool is haunted by a malevolent entity tied to an ancient pagan healing spring.
The story
In the present day, the Waller family—Ray, Eve, and their two children—are seeking a new residence after Ray is forced to retire from his baseball career due to multiple sclerosis. They purchase a house with a backyard swimming pool, hoping it will aid Ray's condition. However, they soon discover the pool is self-sustaining, drawing water from an underground spring. As Ray's illness mysteriously enters remission, the family begins to experience unsettling events. After a pool party, the realtor reveals a tragic history of a previous owner's daughter drowning in the pool, heightening the family's unease as they realize the water holds a dark secret.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1992, a young girl named Rebecca Summers is pulled underwater while trying to retrieve a toy boat for her terminally ill brother, Tommy. In the present, the Waller family moves into a home with a backyard pool. Ray Waller, suffering from multiple sclerosis, finds his condition improving as he uses the pool for therapy. However, the pool is fed by an underground spring that was once an ancient pagan healing spring guarded by a malevolent fairy-like entity. The realtor, Kay, reveals that the previous owner's daughter, Rebecca, drowned there. Eve eventually learns from Rebecca's mother, Lucy, that the spring requires a sacrifice in exchange for its healing properties; Lucy had sacrificed Rebecca to heal Tommy. Eve realizes that Ray is being healed by the pool, but the entity will now take one of the children as a sacrifice. The entity begins to control Ray, trapping Elliot in the pool and attacking Izzy. During a confrontation, Ray is freed from the entity's control by Izzy hitting him with a baseball bat, but Elliot becomes possessed. To save his children, Ray sacrifices himself, causing the entity to vanish. Eve, Izzy, and Elliot decide to stay in the house and fill in the pool to prevent any further victims.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Bryce McGuire
- Writers
- Bryce McGuire · screenplay; Bryce McGuire · story; Rod Blackhurst · story
- Cast and characters
- Wyatt Russell · Ray Waller; Kerry Condon · Eve Waller; Amélie Hoeferle · Izzy Waller; Gavin Warren · Elliot Waller; Jodi Long · Lucy Summers; Ayazhan Dalabayeva · Rebecca Summers; Nancy Lenehan · Kay; Eddie Martinez · Coach E
- Genres
- supernatural horror; supernatural thriller; horror thriller
- Themes
- Sacrifice; Healing; Family Dynamics; Supernatural Mythology
- Tone and mood
- Supernatural; Chilling; Gothic Fairytale
- Setting
- A suburban home with a backyard pool in the United States during the present day (with a 1992 flashback).
- Premise and plot tags
- Supernatural Horror; Family Drama; Healing; Sacrifice
- Source material / true-story basis
- A 2014 short film by Bryce McGuire and Rod Blackhurst.
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics and was described as tepid and unscary by some, though it received a positive review from The New York Times and Rolling Stone.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 43 · scale: 100 · review count: 32; CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 45%
- Production trivia
- The film is the first release from Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster following their merger on January 2, 2024.; The film was inspired by various movies including Poltergeist, Jaws, and The Abyss.; The film was shot in an Altadena suburban home with a 9 foot deep backyard pool.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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