The Swimmers (2014) User Reviews (6)

Not Bad

[Foutainoflife · 7/10 · 28 September 2018]

This movie is about two guys and a girl. One boy has the girl, the other boy wants her. When he eventually and secretly gets her, she ends up pregnant and commits suicide. The original boyfriend sets out on a mission to understand why she killed herself all while the other boy starts to experience some unpleasant occurrences.

I wasn't on the edge of my seat but this was not a bad little thriller. This is aimed more for the teenage crowd but the story offers a few fresh ideas and the acting was good. I liked how some of the pool scenes were shot and the special effects were decent. Check it out.

Swimmingly Incomplete

[j-penkair · 7/10 · 7 June 2015]

The end of a film is everything to its memorability. So this film has built up well, sustained the audience skilfully, got us emotionally involved with the major characters, and simply died away. If the script writer insists on the ending of mental anguishes as the punishment for horrendous crimes, he or she must have done a lot more in displaying this boy Perth's state of Hell on Earth. We the audience should have led to believe that sparing his life is an ordeal. His face at the final scene should have shown all signs of darkness and sins fallen upon him, as opposed to a shiny face of the winner. The ghost on the diving tower should have been all-around dominating and looming over him, to say the least. The ghost of his ex-friend Tan should have played a part in "Hell on Earth". The final "happy" scene of all three characters is most misleading if the "Hell on Earth" curse is indeed the intent. Thai films are always weak at stories and plotting, while highly on the production side, generally speaking. As a citizen of Thailand, I know the root cause well. Thailand is a nation under the spell of a superman theory of the monarchy. All imaginations in Thailand are limited with the total surrender to the monarchy. You can't think differently without a punishment, both by peer pressure and by law. One can be totally creative only when the sky is without a ceiling or boundary. Thailand's sky is not only limited, but strictly forbidden. Artists in the country must have disillusioned themselves thoroughly to survive, as there is no room to think otherwise. Memorable films are made in total freedom or in total suppression as a protest. Thailand's case is ambivalent, at best.

Everything happens quite fast towards the end

[Highcritic-95845 · 6/10 · 15 March 2021]

A good quality horror movie with proper scenes and storyline. Only dislike the ending where the antagonist got away with all the murders.

Dislike the Ending

[meliyantocxx · 4/10 · 12 December 2014]

I will straight to the point. The story is good, it's not much of a horror, only a few jump scares, but that's OK because the story itself is a good one. **Spoiler warning** It's about a girl committed suicide because she was pregnant by cheating with her boyfriend's best friend. The horror began when Perth(boyfriend's best friend) haunted by Ice(the girl) and Tan(boyfriend) start to looking for whoever cause his beloved committed suicide. The drama is well built. But, in the end of the story, it turn out that Perth accidentally killed Ice, and Tan, who know the truth goes on revenge to Perth, fighting inside the pool and lose.... Perth manage to cover the killing again. What is the moral message in this movie? Killer runs free? Stupid ending ruined entire well built drama.

Look beyond the movie's exploitative - but oh so good looking - bods and you'll find a well made psychological thriller well worth your time

[moviexclusive · 8/10 · 30 August 2014]

It's been a while since we saw a competent horror movie from the Land of a Thousand Smiles. The offerings from Thailandin 2014 were decent but forgettable – how much do you remember about Piyapan Choopetch' Project Hashima, Pisut Praesangeam's She Devil and Poj Arnon's Make Me Shudder 2? While Banjong Pisanthanaku's 2013 hit Pee Mak gave us a few good scares, it was more of a comedy than anything else. Here we have an aqua themed horror flick which isn't ashamed to display its good looking leads on the promotional poster. Check out the dude's well defined abs! That ghostly looking girl is quite a looker with her pretty face! Wow, that nice tan the other dude is sporting!

Before you dismiss this Sophon Sakdaphisit directed movie as a disposable flick exploiting its young stars, let us assure you it's a well made psychological thriller worth your time – especially if you appreciate a good horror movie from Thailand.

The titular swimmers are Perth(Chutavuth Pattarakampol) and Tan (Thanapob Leeratanakajorn), who are best friends, but also enemies in the pool. Things get complicated when Perthfalls in love with Tan's girlfriend Ice (Supassara Thanachart), who expresses her fond feelings towards the charming but somewhat promiscuous Perth. The horror quotient goes up with Ice is found to have committed suicide in the pool, and the furious Tan begins seeking revenge for his dead girlfriend. Perthbegins experiencing strange things, and your mind begins to play mind games as well.

Sakdapisit, who impressed us with Laddaland (2011), about a father who moves his family to a supposedly haunted housing development, has again helmed a taut psychological thriller which reflects the larger social issue on hand. Strictly speaking, this 113 minute movie isn't exactly about ghosts but about the guilt and aftermath of a hormone rush. Without elaborating too much, let's just say if you had to resolve your sexual urge, at least make sure a condom is in place. If not, you may want to be spiritually protected against the demon that will follow you for the rest of your life, should an unfortunate accident take place.

Youngsters will flock to watch this movie: muscular teen dudes and cutesy teen girls are generously shown on screen. The triangular love story is an accessible plot to most teenage audiences. The three main leads are eye candy and deliver decent performances, which is a plus point for the production. Movie studio GTH has produced a commercial product which will go down well with today's viewers. This is not a bad thing in this movie's case, because there are some messages to take away after the credits roll.

There are some tolerably good scares scattered throughout the film, and things get a little absurd when the cocky Perth's tummy begins to swell. Yes, it is every man's worst nightmare: male pregnancy. A teammate tells him: "Hey Perth, your six-pack is now a one-pack!" We hear nervous giggles in the theatre, but you know this is the last thing any guy wants. How do things turn out in this recommended horror flick? We urge you to step into the cinemas to find out.

A nice change

[klaukipi · 10/10 · 12 September 2015]

If you're expecting to see a memorable horror movie, you've come to the wrong place. "The Swimmers" isn't a fantastic movie that you'll want to see over and over again, every year every time Halloween comes around, but it's a nice movie if you're looking for something refreshing and different.

I saw "The Swimmers" in an horror fest this year, and I must say it was a nice change of pace after all the typical American horror movies that were shown. It wasn't your typical horror movie, especially since you get a good laugh or two at some moments of the film; although it isn't a great movie it's still really enjoyable.

I won't say much more since I don't want to give out any spoilers, but the ending, although a little anti-climate, sure came as a surprise (and I say this as the kind of the person who watches horror movies daily or weekly and usually knows everything that is gonna happen because of how cliché it is).

Enjoy!