Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Haunted swimming pool movie is violent but short on scares.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Night Swim
What's the Story?
In NIGHT SWIM, Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell) is a former third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers who's been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Seeking a place to settle down, Ray, along with his wife, Eve (Kerry Condon), their teen daughter, Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle), and their younger son, Elliot (Gavin Warren), finds a beautiful house with a swimming pool in the backyard. Since Ray's doctor has recommended water therapy, it seems too good to be true. And, indeed, it's not long before Ray seems to be getting better. But the kids and Eve experience strange events in the water, including being grabbed by monstrous hands and seeing strange, ghostly figures. After a disastrous pool party, it becomes clear that something is really wrong. Eve starts hunting for the source of the haunting, while Ray begins acting increasingly strangely.
Is It Any Good?
Its premise is so ridiculous that it might have become a silly camp classic, but this horror movie is presented totally seriously, with no real scares—and no awareness of its silliness. There have been movies about haunted beds and motorcycles, about possessed trucks and tomatoes; the haunted swimming pool in Night Swim is just as preposterous as any of them. And yet director/co-writer Bryce McGuire—who based the movie on his own four-minute short—crams it all into a generic horror formula, complete with dumb jump scares and an answer-seeking visit to the previous haunting victims.
The movie doesn't even have any consistency in its rules. The water itself is supposedly haunted, and yet, the pool is filled with gory-faced monsters, as well as sweet-faced ghosts of the innocent souls it's claimed, and all of them are capable of grabbing unsuspecting swimmers. There's also a swirling black goo that seems to be responsible for something. There's competent acting by Russell and Oscar nominee Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), and they help conjure some genuine moments of family interaction, but the more absurd things get, the less you're likely to care. By the end of this not-scary chiller, Night Swim has gone right down the drain.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Night Swim's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people enjoy being scared?
What does "there's no such thing as a free lunch" mean? How does the movie try to demonstrate this saying?
Some characters insist that "love requires sacrifice." Is this true? Why, or why not?
If you could wish for something via the movie's magical waters—which would require someone to die—would you do it? What would you wish for?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 5, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : January 23, 2024
- Cast : Wyatt Russell , Kerry Condon , Amelie Hoeferle
- Director : Bryce McGuire
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Director(s) , Multiracial Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Writer(s) , Multiracial Movie Writer(s)
- Studios : Universal , Blumhouse Productions
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Fantasy
- Run time : 98 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : terror, some violent content and language
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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