Swimfan: Critic Reviews

Proof that a thriller can be sleekly shot, expertly cast, paced with crisp professionalism... and still be a letdown if its twists and turns hold no more surprise than yesterday's weather report.

Ultimately this is a pretty lame movie, without the sardonic wit that parts of the script had seemed initially to promise -- but workmanlike enough.

It's like going to a house party and watching the host defend himself against a frothing ex-girlfriend. You don't want to call the cops. You want to call Domino's.

Nothing plot-wise is worth e-mailing home about.

Director John Polson mutes the conservative sexual politics of the original film, focusing on the lightweight, efficient suspense story.

A chiller resolutely without chills.

Not really a thriller so much as a movie for teens to laugh, groan and hiss at.

It would be so easy for an actress to overplay this role, to morph into high camp, but Christensen stays icy cool.

Haven't we all seen this already? Too many times?

A tapestry of loose ends.

Only the very easily pleased will be able to see past its limitations.

Bradford spends the entire film with an Andrew Shue-ish sullen, slack-jawed expression, but even that's more than what the bland Appleby brings to her doormat role.

A mean-spirited, incompetent disaster.

Was anybody clamoring for yet another teen movie? Or, even worse, a teen version of Fatal Attraction?

Seguindo o tom juvenil (no sentido pejorativo da palavra) do roteiro, podemos descrever este filme com uma regra de tres simples: Fixacao esta para Atracao Fatal assim como Erika Christensen esta para Glenn Close.

No points for originality, but young audiences will lap up the mix of nubile teens and cheap shocks, while the solid performances provide something for less hormone-ravaged viewers.

...fifty minutes of tedious adolescent melodramatics followed by thirty-five minutes of inflated nonsense.

Christensen is clearly the best thing about this movie; her transition from a pretty, personable high school girl to a psychotic killer is subtle and disturbing. But its charms mainly end there.

Starts well, but ends up being derivative and annoying.

I hate this movie

...it's sometimes difficult to know whether to admire "Swimfan" for being such a tidy little mimic that admittedly has its moments or to hate it for its utter lack of ingenuity and creativity.

...a listless tale of sex, stalkers and stupidity for the SAT set.

No surprises.

Late-summer flotsam from the shallow end of the genre movie pool.

Drowning's too good for this sucker.