Summary
Deep End(2020) is a scary short film from director Anthony Sellitti, and it has resurfaced a long-forgotten fear of mine. Like mosthorror shorts that can be found on YouTube,Deep Endarrived without any fanfare. It was just plopped down on the platform, waiting for unsuspecting viewers to scroll by it.It’s only five minutes long, butthat was enough time to remind me of an unsettling fearthat I used to have to deal with daily in the summer.
In the film, a young, unnamed boy, played by Cardin Benjamin, finds a pristine, abandoned pool on a hot summer day. The dream for any sweltering suburban kid. He jumps into the average-looking pool only to find himself descending into depths much greater than physically possible. The boy also realizes he’s not alone down there. Short horror movies are hit-and-miss, but that’s part of the reason I love them. It’s like listening to a new album and zipping through the songs, finding which are your favorites, andDeep Endis definitely a hit.
Deep Enddirector Anthony Sellitti has also written four episodes ofX-Men ‘97.
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The Concept Of A Pool’s Deep End Is Played For Horror In The Short Film
A Boy Faces A Real Nightmare In A Bottomless Pool
I distinctly remember the first time I was afraid of the deep end. It was late-onset thalassophobia because I’d been a competitive swimmer since I could paddle. Then one summer, I think after I’d seenJaws(though that may be apocryphal), I jackknifed off the five-foot diving board into the 12-foot deep end like I’d done a thousand times before, and immediately shot to the surface terrified. I don’t know what it was, butall that blue beneath me was unnerving. I could easily swim to the bottom and still, I swam like a drowning rat to the ladder.
The surface may seem calm and blue, but once you put your head under, your vision goes foggy, the sun doesn’t penetrate so everything is dark, sounds become muffled.
I think it’s a fear many children have. Who knows what’s down below you in the depths?Deep Enddoes a great job of depicting that feeling of being above and below the water line. The surface may seem calm and blue, but once you put your head under, your vision goes foggy and the sun doesn’t penetrate. Everything is dark, sounds become muffled. It’s haunting. When the boy inDeep Endgoes below the surface, he’s surrounded by an impenetrable inky blackness. He looks out of the corner of his eye: is there someone else down there with him?
You don’t know what’s lurking in the water, especially when you’re beneath it, andDeep Endramps up those feelings and shows what happens when those childhood fears are for a good reason. Bonus points forDeep Enddepicting the frustration any lifeguard has had when they’ve tried to rescue some kid’s goggles from the bottom of the pool without getting in, and then the skimmer isn’t long enough.
How Deep End Compares To Other Pool & Water Horror Movies
Deep End Keeps Its Creature Hidden
The best underwater and aquatic horror moviestake advantage of the unknown the ocean/pool/bathtub presents. What’s visible above the water line in no way indicates what’s going on below. In that regard,Deep Endsucceeds as well as any recent underwater horror film, likeNight Swim, which is almost the feature-length version ofDeep End.Deep Endalso takes a lesson fromJawsand only gives viewers glimpses of its monster.
One of the reasons I love short horror films likeDeep Endis that they can get away with endings that feature-length movies can’t. Shorts don’t need a hero, a lesson, or a backstory, they’re just pure horror. It doesn’t matter if the protagonist is good or bad, an adult or a kid; either way, they’re in for a bad time.Deep Enddoesn’t pull any punches and the only lesson is that if you do decide to go pool-hopping, maybe hang out by the ladder.
