Night Swim Producer Reveals Why Comedy Helps Horror Movies in the End

Night Swim will be in theaters on January 5.

By Russ Burlingame

Night Swim is coming. Based on a short film of the same name, it's a horror movie with a strong undercurrent of comedy, and according to the movie's producer, that's an important combination. The film's comedy helps the horror be a little more palatable to some audiences, according to producer Ryan Turek, who spoke with ComicBook.com in support of the movie ahead of its release next Friday. 

He shared an example of one of his favorite funny beats from the movie (although it doesn't make as much sense out of context), and broke down why he thinks it's so important to have a little levity in between the kills. You can see the full interview above if you're so inclined.

"I think comedy makes the horror go down a little bit easier and is a little bit more relatable," Turek told ComicBook.com. "Some films dial it up, some films dial it down, but when it comes to the ingredients of a scary movie, it's relatability. What am I seeing onscreen? We all love to crack jokes, and when one lands, that's great. It's just a human element, and when you can anchor the scary movie with as much humanity, you've hit a home run."

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Based on the acclaimed 2014 short film by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire, Night Swim stars Wyatt Russell (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Ray Waller, a former major league baseball player forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, who moves into a new home with his concerned wife Eve (Oscar nominee Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin), teenage daughter Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) and young son Elliot (Gavin Warren, Fear the Walking Dead). Secretly hoping, against the odds, to return to pro ball, Ray persuades Eve that the new home's shimmering backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for him. But a dark secret in the home's past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under, into the depths of inescapable terror.

Night Swim hits theaters on January 5, 2024.

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