Stephen King is known for writing regularly. For example, the author of “ES” and “Shining” recently became acquainted with the science fiction series “Constellation”, celebrated the thriller series “The Tourist” or some time ago courageously joined an online campaign to save his new favorite series. Manifesto” (successfully, by the way). However, you don’t have to agree with the writer’s praise…
…and although tastes are of course very different and judgments are subjective, It comes as a surprise that Stephen King would recommend a horror film that has flopped so mercilessly with international critics. In our FILMSTARTS review we could only give it 1.5 out of 5 possible stars – instead of excitement and dread we were greeted by a “pool of boredom”.
“Like a lost low-budget Steven Spielberg film”
It’s also about a swimming pool, a swimming pool, and people die in it instead of splashing around – albeit in a terribly boring and uninspired way. Stephen King sees it differently: “I have ,Night swimming“Loved (Amazon Prime),” King’s message reads.
The author then draws a comparison that may raise an eyebrow or two – because he sees in ‘Night Swim’ the early genius of one of the greatest directors par excellence: ‘It’s like a lost low-budget film Steven Spielberg from Spielberg’s early creative phase… let’s say, after ‘Duell’, but before ‘Jaws’. A simple story, but… the cat on the diving board! And those creepy bunny slippers!”
We are of course happy that Stephen King enjoyed ‘Night Swim’, especially the (animal) details. We can bring you the director’s fantasy horror Bryce McGuire However, we don’t recommend it at all – and we’re not the only ones. On the summary collection page Only a measly 22% of the 161 reviews are positive. Also the average ratings speaks for a pickle instead of scary fun: here the story about a killer pool gets 43/100 points based on 32 reviews.
“Night Swim”: This amazing pool has no bite
Killer pool? Yep, that’s exactly what “Night Swim” is about – about a murderous swimming pool that terrorizes the Waller family (including Wyatt Russell) and not only takes in their furry four-legged friends… What an interesting premise with the potential for at least some fun garbage, maybe even clever psychological terror sounds, Here, however, it spills over into shallow splashing in shallow entertainment waters. Ultimately, all you really want is a day at the pool – at least something.
In Stephen King’s native US, “Night Swim”, as noted in his post on X, is already available on Amazon Prime Video – but not in Germany. You’ll have to wait for the April 25, 2024 Blu-ray and DVD release in this country (already available for pre-order) if you want to see for yourself if there isn’t a spark of Steven Spielberg in the dank horror…