NIGHT SWIM (2024)

January 4, 2024

Greetings again from the darkness. Over the years, there have been many movies reinforcing why we should “be afraid of going in the water.” This includes CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954), DEEP SEA BLUE (1999), OPEN WATER (2003), and of course, the all-time classic, JAWS (1975). Beyond the ocean, swimming pools always create a level of anxiety for parents, because most kids can’t imagine something that’s so much fun carrying any type of danger. Thanks to horror producers Jason Blum and James Wan, writer-director Bryce McGuire and co-writer Rob Blackhurst have expanded their 4-minute 2014 short film and try their darndest to make a backyard pool the source of supernatural evil.

Fresh off her Oscar nomination for THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2022), Kerry Condon stars as Eve Waller, and Wyatt Russell (EVERYBODY WANTS SOME, 2016) co-stars as her husband Ray, whose major league baseball career has been cut short due to the early onset of a degenerative disease. The family finds a spacious home with a swimming pool in the backyard, and the kids, 15-year-old Izzy (Amelie Hoeferle, THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES) and her younger brother Elliot (Gavin Warren, “Fear the Walking Dead”) are thrilled to leave the gypsy life of baseball behind and finally settle down and make friends. As viewers, we know something the family doesn’t. The opening scene (expertly filmed) shows us a tragic event that occurred in this same pool a few years back. Nothing is given away, but it’s an ominous start featuring some fuzzy bunny slippers.

Once the Wallers move in, each of them have their own encounters while swimming. Eve, Izzy, and Elliot each get spooked, while Ray immediately begins to feel better and more energetic. Ben Sinclair (SPIN ME ROUND, 2022) adds a dose of humor as the pool servicer, while also informing the family that it’s a natural spring-fed pool. For some unknown reason, Sinclair’s character only gets one scene – a definite flaw in the filmmaking. The Wallers throw a neighborhood party and, no surprise, it goes sideways. From here, things get progressively worse (and sillier) as a supernatural entity or demon is clearly having its way with the family.

Cinematographer Charlie Sarroff (SMILE, 2022) does nice work with the pool, especially the underwater scenes at night … although the night isn’t the only time bad stuff happens. Other than the kinda funny idea that a swimming pool can possess evil, the film clunks along by touching on numerous ideas, some of which are creative, only to leave us hanging on most. The backstory of the house and swimming pool is investigated by Eve, and that alone could have injected a heavy dose of drama and creepiness. Instead, we get a couple of glimpses of a hokey looking presence … and we can’t help but wonder why this family keeps sticking their hands in every skimmer and drain opening – much less why they insist on swimming alone at night.

It feels like a pretty intense and more complete story is lurking just beneath the surface here … as there are some good ideas, as well as believable performances from Condon, Russell (who nails a couple of punchlines), Hoeferle, and Warren. Similarities to the horror classic POLTERGEIST (1982) are evident, and that’s a pretty lofty goal. Producers Jason Blum and James Wan have recently finalized the merger of their two production studios, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, so we can expect regular releases of horror films from the group. The expectation is there will be more hits than misses.

Opens nationwide in theaters on January 5, 2023

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE LAZARUS EFFECT (2015)

February 26, 2015

lazarus Greetings again from the darkness. In this day of direct-to-video and movie streaming, it’s a bit surprising that one like this secures a theatrical release. But then it does have a solid cast and a producer who has a proven track record of profitable box office success with low budget horror. The other thing it has going for it is the time of year – there is not much being released right now that can draw the weekend teenage groups, the audience this is clearly aimed at.

Horror movies can be fun, and with a cast that includes Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover and Evan Peters, this one has the foundation to develop a following. However, what starts out like a new age “religion vs science” battle, ends up as a schlocky pseudo-intellectual gore fest. It teases us by mentioning the big questions: What happens when we die? Is it possible to bring back the dead? Should we even try? There are philosophical and ethical questions that are just as relevant as the religious ones.  Unfortunately, the teases offer no payoff and instead we are left with cheesy special effects and a demonic presence that is not so interesting.

When a movie disappoints like this, comparing it to better pictures seems unfair; however, there are elements of Flatliners (1990), Pet Sematary (1989), and of course James Whale’s classic Frankenstein (1931). We even get an “IT’S ALIVE” reference, tongue-in-cheek though it is. The biggest difference is that all three of those films knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish, whereas this first feature film from director David Gelb is a mish-mash of genres and styles.

The basic premise is that lovers, and co-researchers at a Catholic university, Frank (Duplass) and Zoe (Wilde), along with their assistants Clay (Peters), Niko (Glover) and Eva (Sarah Bolger, one of the sisters from the great IN AMERICA from 2002), began by looking for a way to extend brain activity in comatose patients. Their work evolved into attempting to bring the dead back to life. It’s no surprise – and included in the trailer – that one of the group dies and the experimental serum is used to reanimate that person. You probably won’t be surprised at this … things don’t go well.

There are some interesting moments and elements – the recurring dream sequence plays out well, but most of the good stuff is quickly dropped in favor of jolts of shock and awe. Jump-scares abound and that will go over well with the Friday night teenagers, but few others will find much to like here. Producer Jason Blum has a real feel for this genre and has turned 50 cents into mega-millions with such movies as the Paranormal Activity franchise, The Purge, and Ouija among others. Mr. Blum has 21 projects in the works for 2015 alone, making him one of the most prolific producers working today. He will learn that it’s sometimes better to let dead dogs lie.

watch the trailer:

 

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Posted by David Ferguson