MOVIE NEWS – A threat from the depths of the pool terrifies an American family in Night Swim, which hits cinemas exactly one year after the cult hit M3GAN. It’s no coincidence that the eerie new thriller is from the same producing duo – Jason Blum and James Wan – as the blockbuster about a self-aware robot baby, and their films have a chartered place in the early year line-up.

The grand masters of scares are opening the 2024 movie season with another bumper crop: last year they turned the sweetie-pie doll of nurseries into a spree killer, now the status symbol of the suburban middle class, the garden swimming pool, is unleashing its demons. The New York Times reviewer says the timing of the show is perfect: the creators are thoroughly discouraging viewers from splashing around, but there’s still time before the beach season starts at the end of spring to recover from the shock.

The pool terror has also taken its toll on the actors, with lots of underwater scenes. As lead actor Wyatt Russell – son of Kurt Russell – told Slash/Film, none of the actors came to the set as professional divers, so they couldn’t hold their breath in the water for long at first, which was necessary for the long takes.

“Patience to hold my breath for as long as possible, while of course concentrating on acting the scene. And I also needed a mantra, which is very simple: don’t panic! It’s a general incantation, it works in any situation, but it came in particularly handy when I knew I couldn’t go to the surface for a while. Even though I had a dive team at my side, ready for any eventuality, I was just terrified that I was about to run out of air and then what would happen. Then I got into it, which required a mantra.”

(Night Swim – in cinemas from Thursday!)

Source: UIP Dunafilm