Review of The Pool (2018)

Follow this link to the Imdb article on The Pool.

The Pool is a 2018 Thai (Thigh–if you are keeping up with current political events) horror movie about a man (Day) who find himself trapped in an empty, deep swimming pool with no way out. Things get considerably worse when his girlfriend (Koy) and then a crocodile become trapped with him. Things get very iffy very frequently for Day and Koy throughout the film. I found the film had a constant tension as to how Day and Koy would survive.

The premise for the movie is that Day is given the job of cleaning a very deep pool in a natatorium in a remote location. Left on his own, he decides to take a nap on an inflatable raft, unaware that the pool is slowly draining. When he wakes up, he sees his girlfriend on the diving board about to dive into the pool and join him. Before he can tell her that the water is too low to get out, she dives but injures her head in the process. Thus the two are trapped. The water drains out leaving them to suffer from hunger and thirst for several days I don’t recall why this period is so long; it may be because the pool is closed for the season thus the need to drain it.

During this time, a crocodile manages to fall into the dry pool. How the crocodile falls in is a little contrived, but it does add a great and unexpected threat for Day and Koy. Now, Day must defend the unconscious Koy from the croc while trying to find a way out and trying to not to starve or die of thirst. All the while, Day suffers from terrible luck as there are several times he might be rescued, but somehow luck keeps him and Koy trapped. Of course, I won’t give away the ending, but it was very tense going.

This is a fun horror flick filled with constant tension and fear though not very much violence or gore. It might be better to describe this movie as a thriller than horror. I found it intriguing to think about how I would survive in a similar situation.

I saw on Imdb that a lot of reviewers called The Pool ridiculous and the situation ludicrous and contrived. I never felt that way at all. Day’s actions are logical though desperate and sometimes taken out of frustration. Luck, both good and bad, does figure greatly in the movie though.

I recommend seeing this movie. I saw it on Shudder, but it would worth the cost of Redbox at least to see it.