The Midnight Swim

Synopsis

When June's (Lindsay Burdge) mother goes mysteriously missing after diving in Spirit Lake, she and her sisters travel home to put her affairs in order. June, a mentally unstable documentary filmmaker, records the experience with her two half-sisters Annie (Jennifer Lafleur) and Isa (Aleksa Palladino). Their mother, an ecologist who was campaigning to preserve Spirit Lake, is gone but always present. As they settle back into her house, Isa takes up with June's ex-crush Josh (Ross Partridge) while several strange occurrences happen after they jokingly summon the ghost of a local legend. As the questions mount, the family begins to unravel and June finds herself drawn deeper into the true mystery of the lake.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception for The Midnight Swim has been positive, with much of the film's praise centering on the performances and the "acutely unsettling" tone of the film. Indiewire praised these elements, calling the film "enigmatic and fathomless," and stating that the film "is, among other things, a movie about sisters, who actually seem like sisters. They look alike, they sound alike, they move alike enough to seem like sibs. One is a believer, one is a cynic; one is, at least on the surface, slightly unstable. They may be variations on a single genetic theme, but even their differences speak to kinship." Twitch Film and Film School Rejects also wrote positive reviews, with Film School Rejects commenting that although they saw the found footage format as a "constant distraction" the film was overall well acted and praised the film's imagery.

Fangoria commented that the found footage format was integral to the story and something more akin to an emotional POV, stating that "the camera uniquely acts as an almost-transparent bridge between you and a character's psyche." Moveable Fest says the movie "terrifies existentially." Ion Cinema states that "the unnerving quality of Sarah Adina Smith's directorial debut occurs mostly in its aftereffects, leaving us with the profound, less earthbound implications in its final few moments."

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 27, 2014. on May 12, 2015, the film was acquired by Candy Factory Films. The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on June 26, 2015.