The Pool (2001): Review

Upon graduating, a group of friends from a prestigious Prague High School decide to throw a celebratory party at a local pool complex known for its extravagance. Soon the water begins to turn red, as people start dying one by one at the hands of a vicious killer. Will the group make it out alive, or have they just taken the last swim of their life at….The Pool. (Pretty nifty synopsis I just wrote, eh?)

The film begins with a young woman preparing for a dinner date. A storm is brewing outside; it is raining, thundering, and lightning. While preparing dinner she hears the doorbell. She goes outside to discover her date dead in his car. She quickly runs back inside, locking the door, but it is too late the killer is already inside. This begins the film and introduces us to the killer wearing a black jumpsuit and “Half-Skull” mask.

We cut to the prestigious “International High School Of Prague” where students are taking their final exams. After the exams, it’s off to prepare for the “Most extravagant surprise party of all time!”

The pool complex, where they have the party, is the most exquisite place I have ever seen. It has a: HUGE pool with cave enclosures, water tunnel slide, bar, sauna, fitness room, and dining hall. Think of it as the mansion of all indoor pool complex’s.

The film is your typical cat and mouse slasher film, with plenty of blood and a big machete. The most unique kill in the film is when a girl is sliding down a tunnel-slide and a machete jabs through the bottom, causing her to go “Crotch-first” into the machete’s sharp blade.

The killer isn’t that easy to figure out. The signs weren’t blatantly obvious about who the killer was, so that is never spoiled early-on, like in so many other slasher films. You are told ‘about’ the killer by the police, but that doesn’t really give you any insight into ‘who’ it is, just that they are completely psychotic.

The film has quite a lot to offer: James McAvoy, music by “The Donots,” suspense, and bloody kills. Now the film does have some cheesiness, but overall it makes up a decent, completely under-rated, slasher-flick.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars
REVIEW UPDATED: JAN. 12, 2010

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