Sommerleigh Pollonais – Horror Head Writer
I love fantastical horror. The weirder the monster the better. But while werewolves and Cthulhu might entertain me, they never really scare me. It’s only the real world monsters that get those chills going up and down my spine, and that’s just what happened while I was watching The Pool.
It is a Thai horror movie about a young man and his girlfriend who get trapped in an Olympic-size pool when the water empties out and there’s no ladders, or anything else for that matter, to climb. The man named Day (Theeradeth Wongpuapan) has diabetes, the woman, Koi (Ratnamon Ratchiratham), has a head injury. And just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, a freakin’ alligator falls into the pool with them.
Huge props goes to writer/director Ping Lumprapleong on this one. The way the story unfolds feels organic and real. This pool is at least 20 feet deep and how our unlucky protagonists end up in it never felt impossible. This could’ve happened to anyone. Well at least anyone with really bad luck.
There’s a bit of backstory between the two leads, with Koi being pregnant and Day secretly feeling unhappy about it. Honestly, I didn’t need anything more to get drawn into this karmic story of redemption. The movie is beautifully shot for being in just one location, and the editing and pacing is tight all the way through, leaving you on the edge of your seat the entire runtime.
The characters made smart choices trying to find a way out, and I was rooting for them so hard I could easily forgive the few over-the-top moments that occurred here and there (I never new a manhole cover could move that easily).
If you’re a fan of films like The Shallows, Rogue, or any Man vs Beast type of thriller, I highly recommend checking out The Pool. Just avoid swimming in it, because this one needs some serious cleaning.
Sommer’s Score: 7 out of 10
For my review of Rogue you can click here and for Julien’s review of The Shallows you can click here. And for more edge of your seat film reviews you can like and follow Redmangoreviews on Facebook here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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