THE POOL REVIEW

In an abandoned 6-meter deep pool, a couple is stranded there with a deadly predator.

Starring: Theeradej Wongpuapan, and Ratnamon Ratchiratham

Directed and written by: Ping Lumpraploeng

  Horror fans get plenty of movies with common locations, especially the good old cabin in the woods. Sometimes it’s another place in the woods, an abandoned building, or just someones' house. It’s great when we can find a movie with a more unique location like say a pool. A pool…how can a pool be be used to pull off a scary hour and a half movie? Well lets take a dive into “The Pool” and find out how they make it happen!

  Day (Theeradej Wongpuapan) is part of a production team that has just wrapped up shooting at a pool. While most of the crew has left he’s stayed behind to enjoy some time to himself in the pool. A friend of his ties his dog up, orders him a pizza, and reminds him of their next shoot. Day thanks him, and continues to enjoy time on a float. He enjoys it too much as he falls asleep not noticing the pool has been draining. When he finally wakes up he swims over to the edge, but it’s too high for him to climb up. Where’s the ladder…there is none for this diving pool.

  That might not seem too bad, but it’s about to get worse. He falls asleep again when his girlfriend Koi (Ratnamon Ratchiratham) comes to get him. She decides to surprise him, climbs up on a diving platform, and begins to run to jump in. He wakes just as she’s about to jump startling her, and causing her to hit her head on the way down. She’s knocked out, and he places her on the float to recover. She's not the only one who joins him in the water. Soon enough a missing crocodile also stumbles into the pool. 

  The whole situation is set up in a very “Final Destination” type way. The audience gets a tip off of the crocodile before it’s seen, and sees how the water is drained from the pool. Then there are things set in place early on to help them survive almost a week in the empty pool. A small couch left over from the shoot is one along with a few other items found in the water. They help them fight off the croc, and try to make an escape. 

  Over the course of the week Day tries everything he can just get them to the next day. Every time something good happens to them, something bad follows. It’s a constant swing of emotions for them. Speaking of emotions, it only gets more emotionally for them when Day realizes Koi is pregnant, and he’s not sure they’re ready for a baby. Actually it’s more self doubt for him, and just another obstacle for him to overcome while trapped in the pool.

  It’s hard to believe, but they actually manage to put together a good horror film set in a pool. No it’s not perfect starting with my doubts they could survive with the crocodile that long. There are a few other things here and there that didn’t seem to unfold in the right way, but it didn’t take away too much from what eventually happens. To their credit, other things are set up real well, and are hidden until the perfect time to reveal them. They do a great job of extending this out over the course of a week. They keep the emotions swinging back and forth for the couple and the audience, and provide an exciting ending. “The Pool” makes a big enough splash for me to give it 3 pools of blood.

  HorrO

“The Pool” is part of the Shudder July 2020 releases.