Now, the review of one of the most bizarre films I've ever had the displeasure of watching: 'The Pool' is a Thai suspense and horror film released in 2018, directed by Ping Lumpraploeng. The story follows a couple, Day (Theeradej Wongpuapan) and Koi (Ratnamon Ratchiratham), who become trapped in an empty, six-meter-deep pool. After Day, who was working on the filming of a commercial in an abandoned pool, decides to take a nap in the pool after work, he ends up getting stuck when his friend turns on the pump to drain the pool, leaving Day in a difficult situation. Koi, not paying attention to what's happening, jumps into the pool and injures herself in the process, getting stuck with Day. And what already seemed bad gets worse when an alligator on the loose from a water park invades the pool, adding even more danger and drama to the couple's predicament.
The film is a good showcase of Thai talent in creating terror and suspense because you really can't predict what will happen, and you're glued to the TV screen throughout the 90 minutes of the movie. It's as if the tension takes over you, and with each more unbelievable thing that happens, you can only put your hand on your head and wonder what will happen next.
Although I really enjoyed all the terror and suspense offered by 'The Pool' and indeed found that the Thai way of making horror is on par with Hollywood, I also couldn't help but notice that, in this movie, the only real danger in the end was the protagonist's foolishness and bad luck. From the opening scenes, he could have easily avoided getting into that situation in the first place, had he paid attention when his friend warned him that he had turned on the pump to drain the pool before leaving.
This scene is unbelievable: the guy stands there, looking like he's in another world, and even when his friend warns him, says he's leaving, and leaves his dog in the sun, he doesn't realize he should take the poor animal home. After all, having been there for so long without food and now trapped without water in the sun, it's not a situation someone who claims to love their pet would leave them in.
Later, when he finally wakes up, the pool is already at a very low level, and the dog, being smarter than the owner, barks desperately, trying to warn of the danger. Only then does he realize the predicament he's in and set off to find a way out. However, his bad luck continues because when his phone rings, and it's almost falling into the pool, the dog falls too. He's torn between saving the dog's life and grabbing the phone. When he finally decides to save the dog, the phone falls and gets caught by the charger. As our friend can't swim, the phone ends up in the water, and his chance to ask for help is gone.
Then, the pizza delivery guy that his friend had ordered arrives and finds him at the bottom of the pool, trying to get the phone. Not paying attention, he ends up getting his shorts' drawstring stuck in the pool drain. This way, the man leaves, and he loses another chance to get out of the predicament. He decides to rest a bit in this position. When he notices Koi's presence, she's almost about to jump into the pool. He shouts for her not to jump, but she slips and hits her head on the diving board, falling unconscious into the water.
As if bad luck wasn't enough, when night falls, Day remains trapped in the pool with the injured and unconscious Koi. A huge alligator appears and falls into the pool with them. This is when the real terror begins, with Day and the alligator engaged in a fight for life and death. But in this movie, it seems a bucket and an object capable of scaring away an alligator are enough, as every time Day confronts the alligator with the object, the animal gets scared and flees. When he hits the alligator with adhesive tape and the animal runs away, you really have to suspend disbelief to believe this scene. In the real world, Day would have become alligator food right then and there.
He then decides to open the drain to try to escape with Koi, but he leaves the drain uncovered and goes to check on Koi. At that moment, the alligator, being smarter than him, exits through the hole, and another potential escape route is gone. But he decides to risk it anyway and goes through the pipe to check. While he's doing that, the alligator returns, putting Koi's life in danger. He goes back to defend her with, believe it or not, a piece of wood smaller than his forearm and manages to scare away the animal. Let's not even comment on this; let's just embrace the impossible here.
Then we have some moments of peace in the film, where the couple resolves their issues and strengthens their bond. Thanks to Duke's help, they find something to eat. In fact, the biggest hero in this whole film is the dog, and I'll explain why in a bit.
Proving that, even though he's unlucky and a bit foolish, Day is a survivor who deserves to live. Even though he's diabetic and has been without his insulin for a long time, he continues to seek ways to save Koi and himself from certain death. In one of these attempts, after eating one of the alligator eggs, they take what's left and lure the crocodile back into the pool to escape. Even at this moment, they don't use their heads and worry about a music box, putting themselves in unnecessary danger just because Koi wants the object. Honestly, it's too much for me to handle.
At least in the next scene, the music box serves Day well as he finds his insulin, which gives him a lifeline. But trapped in a dead-end hole, the chances of Day and Koi surviving are minimal. Proving that our protagonist is indeed incredibly unlucky, while he's trapped in the hole with Koi, a toy airplane flies overhead. Day tries to take a risk by going back into the pool and trying to get someone's attention, but he fails. At this point, in the height of despair, he tries unsuccessfully to climb up a barbed wire fence. I swear, that scene hurt even me. Then, he faints and wakes up with his alligator friend trying to devour him. Day then fights with it using a bucket and once again scares the animal away.
A side note here: the effects they used to create the alligators are really great, and the animal looks terrifyingly real.
A torrential rain begins, and for the first time in the film, Day uses his brain and manages to trap the alligator under the sofa. He now has a free path to try to help Koi, who at this point is in a dire situation, trapped in a hole where the water level is rising every minute. He then crawls through the pipes, and, when he believes he has finally found an exit, he discovers that he has actually entered the other pool on the premises.
Desperation takes over, and in a fit of anger, Day expends the little energy he has left and ends up wasting the only real chance to call for help, as the owners of the toy airplane return to retrieve it and jump into the pool. But, in yet another stroke of bad luck, the men leave before Day has a chance to ask for help. At this moment, we have the final showdown between man and animal, while Koi fights for her life, trying to escape the hole that's filling up more and more. And at this moment, the ladder that the men left behind is simply dragged away by the force of the storm, proving that bad luck and foolishness can be a fatal combination. The time spent preparing to fight the alligator could have easily been used to run and reach the ladder, thereby saving his and Koi's lives.
Unfortunately, after the ladder is gone, Day continues his fight for life and death against the alligator. The fate of the story is ultimately decided by Koi, who, using a whistle, gets Duke's attention. Despite Day's reluctance, Duke jumps to his death, sacrificing his own life. He provides an escape route for Day, who climbs the dog and manages to save his own life and Koi's.
'The Pool' is a great horror movie, where fear and tension build progressively, keeping you glued to the screen every second as the plot unfolds. While it is great at its core, in my opinion, the film faltered in the end, as the poor dog had to die to save its owner's life. Frankly, after all the tension and impossibilities, this ending was a major disappointment.
Given that a man scared away an alligator with a piece of wood and defeated it with a piece of a sofa, why not have someone appear at the last moment to save both their lives? I don't know, something like that toy airplane being a drone, and after seeing the footage, someone arrives in the nick of time to save them, or some other crazy and unlikely scenario. But having the dog die was just too cruel for me. And seeing so much foolishness and bad luck culminate in the animal's death to save the day was frustrating and disappointing.
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