Night Swim is a thin premise with a thinner plot. There's an initial setup of a vague mystery and protagonist flaw, but no development beyond that. Instead, the script devolves into repetitive scares before finally dumping the exposition and forcing an arc. It has stagnant characters, drawn-out filler, contrivances, an unearned climax, bland dialogue, and no themes. The acting is one-note, generic, and disinterested. While its gimmick concept provides potential for campy satire, there's no further thought put into this story. It's wholly transparent and cliche. The sole surprise here is discovering how little the film has to say. Ultimately, Night Swim is pointless.
Technically, Night Swim presents halfhearted personality, tone, creativity, and energy. The cinematography offsets slick angles, framing, and lighting with a drab and dark finale. Its editing offers choppy pacing, meandering structure, and dull momentum. The sound adds distortions, emphasis, and overdone stings. Its music makes no impact, the production design is ordinary, and its cast is woefully underutilized. The effects combine decent makeup with inconsistent digital work. Despite flashing serviceable ingredients, the majority of this movie is downright monotonous. Consequently, Night Swim turns a functional short film into a waste of time when stretched to feature length.
Writing: 2/10
Direction: 3/10
Cinematography: 6/10
Acting: 4/10
Editing: 3/10
Sound: 6/10
Score/Soundtrack: 4/10
Production Design: 3/10
Casting: 6/10
Effects: 5/10
Overall Score: 4.2/10
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