2023 was filled with some amazing original horror and new filmmakers that are set to hunt genre fans’ nightmares for decades. 2024 looks to be no different with the first major release being Night Swim from director Bryce McGuire. Based on his 2014 short film of the same name, this Blumhouse-produced terror is swimming into theaters in just over a week. Now, as the water turns blood-red, Night Swim’s latest featurette lets your imagination run wild.

The two minute-long behind-the-scenes look has producers James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring) and Jason Blum (Halloween, M3GAN) injecting childhood trauma into our minds. We’ve all been in a pool when our fear has taken us over, and we wonder what horrors could be beneath us. Films like Jaws have only added to that rabbit hole of a thought process over the decades. Also, most people can relate to moving into a new house. What can go wrong in that scenario is scary to think about. As McGuire explained, Night Swim is all about a young family, led by Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon, trying to get a fresh start. However, spending more time together only uncovers dark secrets in the murky water of their pool.

The Next Generation of Horror

However, the main star of this featurette is McGuire himself. Wan and Blum couldn’t stop singing, or in this case screaming, his praises. They noted how passionate he was and that they’d always focused on finding the next generation of filmmakers. The directors of our favorite horror films are as fascinating as the movies they make. Whether it be Mike Flanagan or Jordan Peele, the filmmakers in horror are arguably bigger stars than the movies they make. McGuire is inevitably going to be a rising star in this industry, but him telling his story of being a substitute teacher while writing Night Swim is what dreams are made of. His story is what the magic of the movies is all about. Regardless, if Night Swim ends up being Blumhouse’s next big hit, like M3GAN and Five Nights at Friday’s or not, his story, like Wan before him, is going to lift the next generation of filmmakers to make their own nightmares come to life on the big screen. This is McGuire’s feature film debut and, if this featurette is any indication, horror fans will never want to go in the water again.

When Does ‘Night Swim’ Release?

Night Swim splashes its way into theaters on January 5, 2024. Universal and Blumhouse are breaking in the new year in scream-worthy fashion. While we wait for the horrifying tide to rise, you can view Night Swim’s new featurette down below.

via Collider