Stanisland Magazine

High hopes reduced to low score: lacklustre direction spoils a promising film.

VERDICT:

Blumhouse rhymes with so many words, like ‘Dumbhouse’. Yes, I know it’s childish to say such things, but if you had invested as much time as we have into believing the horror production house was on the verge of pulling off something great, you’d be in an adolescent mood too.

“Night Swim” had so much potential; if you had seen Bryce McGuire’s original short, you’d have been giddy too. Despite its very short runtime, it gave away enough to build anticipation. There was no experimentation with shoddy CGI, no boresome screenplay or overacting; all the things that were wrong with the full-length feature.

Prior to its release, the marketing was subtly masterful, with little given away. Anticipation was the front and centre tactic to reel in unsuspecting viewers, and unsuspecting we were.

Its minimalist approach to trailers and media outreach beckoned viewers to give it a go. But its downfall was that it became the opposite of everything its trailer promised.

The film becomes a parody of itself, with the cast seemingly betrayed by the director, who paired some great actors with some not so experienced ones.

McGuire is perhaps better suited to shorts, and instead should licence out his ideas to better writers, and directors who understand the process of filmmaking. This movie turned out to be a case of trailer is better than the full length feature.