The Pool, 2018.
Written and directed by Ping Lumpraploeng.
Starring Theeradej Wongpuapan and Ratnamon Ratchiratham.
SYNOPSIS:
In an abandoned 6-meter deep pool, a couple is stranded there with a deadly predator.
Sometimes all it takes is a simple premise, a single location, and a crocodile to sell you on a movie. Sure, a good story would be good, some kind of character development or logic would be great side dishes, but The Pool is not interested in that. Ping Lumpraploeng’s Thai aquatic horror-comedy does not care for fancy filmmaking or storytelling, what it cares for is to be a thoroughly entertaining movie that enjoys torturing its characters in the most sadistic and mean-spirited ways, all while having the audience crack up at the absurdity of it all.
The Pool is essentially a crossover between Open Water and Crawl (through the latter was made after this), but in a pool. Without water. And with a crocodile instead of sharks or alligators (yes, there’s a difference, damn it!). Theeradej Wongpuapan stars as Day, the unluckiest man on the planet who after serving as an artistic director on a commercial shoot, falls asleep in a massive Olympic swimming pool as it is drained and finds himself trapped. His dog, Lucky, is chained to the fence above him, forced to look down on his master’s failed attempts to escape, and his insulin shot and phone just out of reach outside the pool. With no food or water, and a hungry crocodile trapped with him, Day is having the worst day of his life. The Pool may be running on a very concise and simple premise, but it gets great mileage out of it in a thrilling and hilarious film that defies explanations.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. The Pool may feature a crocodile as its main antagonist, but the CGI beast looks like a PlayStation 2 cutscene compared to recent films like Crawl. Whenever the mighty reptile moves, you’ll easily tell it is computerized, but Lumpraploeng isn’t going for photorealism. The crocodile is just a means to an end, and in this case that end is pure, brutal fun. Also, the movie introduces another human victim in the form of Day’s girlfriend, Koy (Ratnamon Ratchiratham) who accidentally falls into the pool and suffers a head injury. Koy isn’t so much a character as she is a plot device, serving just as a damsel in distress or to encourage Day in whatever he does. There is little purpose to adding Koy to the cast, but then the movie uses her to deliver a pro-life message that’s as bizarre as unnecessary since it is dropped as quickly as it is introduced. The Pool is nearly as interested in melodrama as it is in crocodile-fun, which may grow tiresome for certain audiences, but works wonders thanks to the absurdity of the script.
If you can look past the lack of nuance with the characters, and/or appreciate a little absurdity in your movies about empty pools and crocodiles, then everything that should be wrong with The Pool will actually improve the viewing experience. In what should be called “Murphy’s Law: The Movie,” Lumpraploeng takes great pleasure in finding everything that could go wrong with Day’s attempts to escape the pool, and teases his survival just before pulling a sick prank on him. The movie constantly waves a carrot in front of Day’s face before pulling it away in a hilariously sadistic way. Need tape to stop a bleeding? The crocodile has it. How about getting the Pizza Hut (seriously, their logo appears at the beginning of the film among the production companies) delivery guy to rescue you? He turns on the engine the moment you start screaming. Lumpraploeng turns the misfortune of its main character into a farce of ridiculous and funny heights.
The Pool is a bonkers roller coaster of hell from beginning to end. The cheesiness and lack of character depth work in its favor to deliver a fast-pace, nail-biting creature feature that will have audiences laughing their minds off, even if dog lovers may want to stay away from this one. This movie should not exist, but boy am I glad it does.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Rafael Motamayor
Originally published September 28, 2019. Updated October 1, 2019.
