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Film reviews

Night Swim Review

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I had low expectations of Night Swim before I even watched the film. I felt it was going to be the type of film where the trailer showed how the story would go and end. Sadly, the trailer did exactly that which made Night Swim a rather dry experience where I wasn’t feeling scared at all. Instead, it felt like a version of the 2006 flick Lady in the Water because of how the place of peril is a swimming pool. While the evil spirits may seem creative in Night Swim, the film attempts to go to dark places to try to give its audience shocks and terrors. However, it fails miserably making Night Swim is a catastrophe. I left the movie with mixed emotions due to the blur of water terror that is challenged to find much meaning.

The film’s plot recaps a horror event in a neighborhood in the early 1990s. After the tragedy, a new family moves into the same home. The husband and wife are Ray (played by Wyatt Russell) and Eve (played by Kerry Condon). Their two kids are Izzy (played by Amelie Hoeferle) and Elliot (played by GavenWarren). The family is looking for a fresh start after Ray, a former baseball player, has sustained injuries. They choose to live in the home because of its swimming pool where they believe Ray can heal his injuries through his physical therapy. The home is also chosen because they feel it is a start to community life for Izzy and Elliot. Unfortunately, they do not realize that the pool is cursed.

Night Swim’s brand of horror felt like an odd version of the 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon, but without thesymbolism and layers of terror that shocked and entertained viewers in that era. Night Swim tries to replicate this formula without success. The layout of events before a terror emerges is not based on much evidence. It doesn’t work to simply throw an invisible monster in a swimming pool to terrorize a family that is looking for a new beginning. Their new life is negatively impacted because the creature in the pool has the power to do mental damage to whoever it possesses in the water. These moments of “possession” is where this writing is a hot disaster. The targeted characters are chosen too easily. In horror, there has to be more calculation to create shock value. In Night Swim, the only shocking aspect is the awful unexpected water scares.

The film does have a structured foundation in terms of the family setup—new home, new life, and new beginnings. The film lacks in that there is no analysis of why the pool is cursed. There are simply creepy scenarios that happen out of the blue. Instead of scaring me, they caused me to laugh at the ridiculousness of the writing. Even the title did not appeal muchto me and gave me a feeling this was going to be a mediocre experience.

Overall, the terror itself does not do the film justice. The only scary parts are when weird terrors emerge as characters enter the pool. The backstory is rushed and out-of-focus. Night Swim does not have a blockbuster vibe to start off the 2024 year in movies. It is a ninety-minute waste of time.

Night Swim is sadly one of the worst horror movie experiences I have had in a while. The line, “It’ll be over soon,” used in this film and many others gave me hope that this film would end soon. Two out of four stars for Night Swim.

Film reviews

The Zone of Interest Review

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In The Zone of Interest, director Jonathan Glazer brings his audience on a journey of the despair and psychological frustration of the wartime era of the 1940s. The film is mind-boggling with tensions that will boil deep to its audience’s core. It is a portrait of a daring society during a tumultuous time where there are unexpected consequences.

The Zone of Interest is based on the novel of the same name written by Martim Amis, who died in May of 2023. The film focuses on a picturesque mansion near Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss (played by Christian Friedel) lives with his wife Hedwig Höss (played by Sandra Huller) and their children. Their home setting is lovely and elaborate, but very nearby some of the worst atrocities in history are taking place. Rudolf finds his work rewarding, if not quite fulfilling. While many at the camp and around the world are suffering, the Höss family is living an idyllic life in their massive home.

The Zone of Interest builds its enthralling story and continuity by its fascinating cinematography and its realistic writing, both of which emphasize the shocking psychological direction the film takes place. The stressful direction of this film blew my mind and had me wondering how Rudolf could make the choices he made. The ball was in Rudolf’s court about how things will go forward, and history will judge his decisions harshly. The Zone of Interest is simply one of the best tension-filled films that I have seen in a long time.

The Zone of Interest made me realize how impactful having a powerful role in a tumultuous era can be. The life of the Höss family is one of both guilt and luxury—but do they belong in that setting? Rudolf’s frustration is felt throughout the film, and it is seen through Hedwig as well. But will they ever have a life where the harsh era is behind them? The Zone of Interest is absolutely gut-wrenching, and I was hooked on this one-of-a-kind experience.

The direction and plot of this film will lead audiences to assume that it will be all about war and political violence, but there is virtually none of that at all in the film. That era of war certainly had many political factors to it, though, and many of which play into the complicated questions that Rudolf must address. So what happens if Rudolf makes a wrong choice in his position of power? Will there ever be peace for their family or their country? Is Hedwig’s frustration temporary, or will she be frustrated all the time? The tensions in The Zone of Interest rise rapidly, and its hard answers can be found in its daring presentation. Four out of four stars for The Zone of Interest.

Film reviews

Society of the Snow Review

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Director J.A. Bayona delivers a film in which surviving peril is critical. Society of the Snow is a breathtaking experience filled with heightened suspense. The cinematography highlights the film’s emotions, and the scenery is truly amazing. The writing is a narrative on the importance of staying put. Society of the Snow reminds viewers that some moments in life require sacrifice and patience, two key factors in this film about friends who are as close as brothers in a detrimental situation. Everyone is hoping for one thing…to make it home alive. Will they make it?

Society of the Snow is a true story. It takes place in 1972 and focuses on a plane crash where a rugby team finds themselves stuck in the Andes mountains with the plane for shelter for over two months. The main characters are the team’s deeply connected rugby players, Fernando ‘Nando’ Parrado (played by Agustin Pardella), Adolfo ‘Fito’ Strauch (played by Esteban Kukuriczka), and Daniel Fernandez Strauch (played by Franciso Romero). While they expected to be on a vacation, they instead survive a plane crash but must learn to navigate uncharted territory. With weather getting colder, food and water supplies running low, and no connection for help, time is running out. Fortunately, they have each other.

The turbulence of the peril they’re in is brutal. The film’s narrative explains each detail of the mountainous environment and how it feels to suffer. The story also dives into what keeps everyone afloat and delivers the message that time is of the essence because as the narrator says, “The only thing that doesn’t belong is us.” Everyone is suffering because they are in a harsh environment where their bodies cannot handle the changing conditions. Cold is the evil which contributes to the horrific crash and terrible aftermath of the passengers on the Uruguayan flight featured in Society of the Snow.

The film emphasizes how the rugby team holds out for chances and holds on until help comes for them. The desire to live is the most enduring element in Society of The Snow. The plane’s passengers think back to their lives and what could have been different back in the past and the present. They wonder if things would have been different if they had not boarded the plane. 

During the movie, I was reminded of a college weather course which touched on global warming and other issues related to changing weather conditions. Since the brutal cold and harsh environment play such a vital role in this film, I couldn’t help but reflect upon the importance weather plays in our world.

Society of the Snow is an experience filled with hope. Although the film has moments in which the audience can feel hopelessness beginning to set in, the stranded rugby players retain a sense of faith. This true story is about a challenging fight for a chance to live in a perilous situation where resilience and hope never end. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Society of the Snow.