February 5, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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Suspenseful Non-Thriller – The Girl In The Pool (Film Review)

Freddie Prinze Jr. in The Girl in the Pool (Signature Entertainment)

The Girl in the Pool – the title for this ‘mystery thriller' really does say it all. For both the story and the execution of said story, it sets up expectations accurately. Running at just under 90 minutes, you can feel the anxiety but the thrills are unfortunately non-existent.

Hours before a birthday party at his home, Thomas () enjoys a supposedly secret rendezvous with his mistress, Hannah. But leaving Hannah alone in his pool, Thomas returns to find she her covered in blood and no longer breathing. Panicked, Thomas hides the body, cleans the scene and is forced to endure the party his wife Kristen has planned for him, all the while trying to figure out what happened and conceal the body that is now leaking blood from its hiding place.

What could have been a swift, sleek singular location mystery is from the outset an uncomfortable, stagnate, and uninspiring drama that happens to have a murder built in. The cast tries to make the best of basic dialogue and predictable ‘twists' and ‘turns' (Prinze Jr. even overacts in some scenes to try and inject some life into the film) but ultimately this doesn't improve anything.

Despite the downsides to The Girl in the Pool, the one element the film has going for it is the suspense. Trying to execute an intriguing story in a singular location is no easy task, but thankfully, director Dakota Gorman has this on their side. Although set at Thomas and Kristen's home, the suspense is upped especially with the party taking place nearby. Characters can disappear for more private and intense scenes, adding to the tension; who knows who will be opening the door and what chaos this could bring Thomas? But aside from the ongoing suspense, there is little to redeem this murder mystery. Once it is clear that Thomas himself didn't harm his mistress, it becomes a disorientating waking nightmare as he tries to (quite badly) cover up the body as well as try and work out who killed her. The murder mystery side of this film picks up the pace but soon falls flat when it becomes obvious who is to blame.

What lets this film down the most is the bland dialogue, which the cast tries their best to add life to. Adding in Kevin Pollak for flavour is a definite plus, but just not enough to make The Girl in the Pool more than a dry and by-the-numbers murder mystery.

The Girl in the Pool is available on Digital Platforms 20th January 2025, distributed by .