| Night Swim | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Bryce McGuire |
| Screenplay by | Bryce McGuire |
| Story by |
|
| Based on | Night Swim by
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Charlie Sarroff |
| Edited by | Jeff McEvoy |
| Music by | Mark Korven |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million |
| Box office | $41.9 million |
Night Swim is a 2024 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Bryce McGuire (in his feature directorial debut), and based on the 2014 short film of the same name by McGuire and Rod Blackhurst. The film stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon. Its plot follows a suburban family who discover that their backyard swimming pool is haunted.
Jason Blum and James Wan produced the film under their Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster banners respectively, and this marks the first film from the two companies to be released following their merger on January 2, 2024.[5]
Night Swim was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on January 5, 2024. The film received negative reviews from critics and grossed $41 million worldwide.
Plot[edit]
In 1992, a young girl, Rebecca, goes out to her family pool one night to retrieve a toy boat belonging to her terminally ill brother, Tommy. While she tries to get the boat, something in the pool pulls her underwater.
In the present day, the Waller family—Ray, Eve, and children Izzy and Elliot—are seeking a new, permanent residence after Ray has been forced to retire from his baseball career due to illness. They decide to purchase a house with a swimming pool in the backyard, especially after hearing that the pool would be good for Ray’s condition. Ray scratches his hand while working to clear out the pool in the back yard. When the pool maintenance come to inspect it, they reveal that the pool is essentially self-sustaining, taking its water from an underground spring in the area.
As he spends more time in the pool as part of his therapy, Ray's illness seems to go into remission. However, Eve becomes concerned at the changes she sees in her husband. Izzy and Elliot each get attacked by something in the pool, and the family cat goes missing. During a pool party, their realtor, Kay, tells Eve about the previous owners' daughter Rebecca Summers drowning in the pool shortly before Ray seemingly forces a child underwater and almost drowns himself, although this is attributed to a side-effect of his illness.
Tracking down the Summers family after learning that there is a long history of disappearances in the house, Eve meets with Lucy, Rebecca's mother. Lucy explains that the water that now sustains the pool was once part of a healing spring, but in order to use the water someone else must be sacrificed to it; Lucy was compelled to sacrifice Rebecca to the pool’s entity to heal Tommy's illness. Eve is horrified to realize that Ray is now being healed by the pool but it will take one of the children as a sacrifice.
Eve returns to the house to find that Ray is being directly controlled by the entity, which traps Elliot in the pool and attempts to kill Izzy. Eve tries to save her son while Izzy confronts the entity possessing her father, eventually assaulting him with a baseball bat. Eve manages to retrieve an unconscious Elliot, and is guided to the surface of the pool by Rebecca's spirit. Once back in the yard, Izzy's assault and Elliot's condition help Ray regain control of himself. To stop the entity attacking his children, Ray sacrifices himself to it.
Deciding to remain in the house so that no one else falls victim to the entity, Eve, Izzy and Elliot make arrangements for the pool to be filled in to stop such a thing happening again.
Cast[edit]
.jpg)
- Wyatt Russell as Ray Waller
- Kerry Condon as Eve Waller
- Amélie Hoeferle as Izzy Waller
- Gavin Warren as Elliot Waller
- Jodi Long as Lucy Summers
- Nancy Lenehan as Kay
- Eddie Martinez as Coach E
- Elijah J. Roberts as Ronin
- Rahnuma Panthaky as Dr. Sridhar
- Ben Cinclair as pool tech
- Ellie Araiza as Angel
