This is not a horror film, rather it is semi drama and semi pseudo-philosophical tripe, which ends up making no sense. Waste of time watching it.
The Midnight Swim
2014
Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery
The Midnight Swim
2014
Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery
Keywords: woman directorlakediver
Plot summary
Spirit Lake is unusually deep. No diver has ever managed to find the bottom, though many have tried. When Dr. Amelia Brooks disappears during a deep-water dive, her three daughters travel home to settle her affairs. They find themselves unable to let go of their mother and become drawn into the mysteries of the lake.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Pretentious muddled film
A Good Drama. It's Not a Horror
It's difficult to recommend this as it blends different genres in a very specific way. It's found footage with non-FF elements. It's mostly a drama about three grieving sisters, but with a supernatural undertone. For some it could be too much of a family drama. For others it could have too much creepy stuff.
I'm a fan of FF horror films, and that's what led me to The Midnight Swim. It starts to go down that path with the mythology of the lake, but for horror fans it's best to think of the film only dipping its toe in. The real story is the relationship between the sisters, and dealing with grief. Despite not expecting the film to go in that direction I was pleasantly surprised. There are some stunning shots, superb acting, and a moving exploration of dying and rebirth. All of which is interwoven into an old ghost story.
Failed on all counts, except for casting and acting. No interesting developments, no interesting family secrets revealed, and I missed creepiness all over
Saw this at the IMAGINE film festival 2015 in Amsterdam. It missed all potential chances to be interesting, in spite of the many recommendations one can derive from the synopsis on the festival website. The introductory talk of the festival programmer was also very positive, which fully explains the even-so positive tone on the website. But I disagree.
Something happens all the time, so the movie is not boring on itself. But the proceedings disappointed and are only mildly interesting. I did not notice anything noteworthy in the controversies between the sisters and/or hidden problems with their mother. Maybe that sort of relational drama is important for romcom fans, but not for me. Many seemingly deep symbolisms about the "seven sisters" constellation, with one star hardly visible (like the youngest sister who is filming all this, and her sisters don't really count her for full as we find out),the birds that fly themselves to death against the window (one each day),and so on. All of that are attempts to suggest some hidden meanings, but it went all past me.
Anyway, the festival audience thought not much of this film. It ranked lowest for the audience award with average score 4.90 out of 10. To add insult to injury: I'm wondering who filmed the final scene, as I don't think this is a "found footage" category of film.