Can ghosts swim? “Night Swim” director answers our silliest questions

Director Bryce McGuire addresses such important topics as filming a horror movie in Michelle Branch's swimming pool and ghost swimming preferences.

Come on in, the water's...frightful?

In the horror movie Night Swim (in theaters this Friday), first-time filmmaker Bryce McGuire plays with a classic set-up: parents played by Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon move their family into a dream house which turns nightmarish, only instead of a haunted house it turns out that the pool is plagued by ghosts.

"The fun was not reinventing the wheel, but going deep on something we all think we know and milking all that of its symbolism, all of its joy and nostalgia, and all of its terror," McGuire says.

Okay, so let's go deep on this tale of water-based woes. Can ghosts swim? At what point did producer James Wan suggest adding a creepy doll to proceedings? What does McGuire think about our dumb-as-dirt idea for a sequel name? The director patiently answers all these queries and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Night Swim is based on a short film you shot in Michelle Branch’s swimming pool. Was she angry when she found out you’d snuck in and done that?

JAMES McGUIRE: [Laughs] No, she’s actually kind of a horror fan, so she got a kick out of it. She’s a friend of the co-director of the short, Rod Blackhurst, who is a great filmmaker in his own right. We just liked her pool, and she was game. She thought that was cool that we had ruined her swimming pool forever. By the way, in the short film, that’s Michelle Branch’s cat who makes an appearance. (See below.)

People always say you should never make a film which involves water. At what point in the shoot did you think, hey, maybe they have a point?

I knew even before going into it what a bad idea it was. In college, I did this film called Jesus Fish, which is this Southern gothic fairytale, and we shot in the rivers of southeast Tennessee. I knew from that how bad it was, how hard it was, and I didn’t learn my lesson. The difference [with Night Swim] was the amazing stunt coordinator Mark Rayner and the team of stunt people — they had just come off Avatar: The Way of Water — truly being the best in the business and an amazing cast. Everyone had to pass swim assessments before they could even sign on to the movie. I think it went as well as it really could have, given how difficult it is. The thing is, why I love water, yes, it’s so challenging, but water just brings such an urgency. [It] was like, you can’t f--- up, because there’s limited times that someone can go down there and perform that action. So it brought this high-stakes urgency to the performance. Also, you’re not acting when you’re underwater, you’re trying not to die! And you feel that.

Which cast member was the best in the water?

Kerry Condon was an amazing swimmer. She held her breath for minutes at a time and hit all of her marks in this 14-foot Olympic swimming pool.

Can ghosts swim?

They can swim great. They’re better swimmers than we are as the living.

What is their preferred stroke?

Freestyle, probably.

The film is produced by James Wan, whose credits include directing the original Saw and overseeing the Annabelle movies. Exactly when did he suggest you should have a creepy doll swimming around the pool?

No spoilers! Clark, don’t tell people that Annabelle makes an appearance! I'm kidding. James is amazing to work with. This whole thing happened because James saw the short film, and then James was swimming in his pool that night, doing the freestyle, looking over his left shoulder, right shoulder, left shoulder, and he thought he saw the kind of silhouette [from the short] standing next to the pool, and it freaked him out. [He] came to meet me the next day and told me the story. When you scare James Wan, something’s going right.

Neither James Wan nor his fellow Night Swim producer Jason Blum are exactly averse to franchises. Do you have ideas for a sequel?

Look, if there were to be a sequel, I do have an idea, and there’s lots more of the mythology. I just wanted this first one to be so simple and archetypal. There's lots more that has already been discussed and could have been in the movie that I would love to get to explore, if people want more.

My pitch for a sequel title is Night Swim 2: Electric Poolgaloo.

Sold! Let me call Universal right now. Oh my gosh. I’ve not gotten that one yet. Respect, respect.

To be honest, that's been burning a hole in my back pocket for the last three days.

You know what? It marinated like a fine wine. Totally worth the wait.

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