Swimfan
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: September 6, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
29
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
10
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
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. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Drippy, derivative stalker flick. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Christensen is a bold actress with chilly frosting. For much of the movie, her character seems determined, sophisticated and bemused, rather than just plain nuts. Read full review
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
About two-thirds of the way through, a stupid, hyperbolic sensibility takes control of the project, running it screaming off the rails. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
The story may not be new, but Australian director John Polson, making his American feature debut, jazzes it up adroitly, with a nifty, staccato editing technique that suggests Madison's inner turmoil and, in the process, fills in some of the shading missing from Christensen's performance. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
With his heavy features and grimacing shyness, Dante provides the best entertainment in Swimfan. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Polson's well-filmed thriller swims down the usual lanes for this sort of story, and everyone looks way too old for senior year; but many of the suspense scenes work fine, and Bradford is terrific as the endangered hero. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Like "Cruel Intentions," Swimfan is entertaining enough to be considered a guilty pleasure. But to transcend the teenage movie genre both movies would have needed a baby Glenn Close, and both came up short. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
At least Christensen seems to have the right idea: She gives her character a look that's part lust, part thousand-yard stare, and part Machiavelli in tight sweaters and form-fitting skirts. It's not exactly acting, but it's not predictable, either, which makes it stand out all the more. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Derivative, predictable and entirely forgettable, the sort of low-expectations genre picture that generally goes directly to video. Read full review
30
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
Nothing plot-wise is worth e-mailing home about. But director John Polson's surging pace, double-flip edits, nu-metal bash-ins, and copious jump-fucks make a sure-handed tempest in this teacup. Read full review
30
VarietyScott Foundas
A chiller resolutely without chills, in which even the pool water always seems heated. And inasmuch as the pic never owns up to its own trashiness, it's not even enjoyable camp. Read full review
30
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
Every plot point is obvious a mile away to anyone who's ever seen a film, and made even more obvious by the fact that the camera blatantly points out clues shortly before they're put to use.
30
Wall Street JournalCollin Levey
The movie is juvenile on many levels, and it's downright creepy to watch an hour and a half of dramatized neoteny -- a state defined by American Heritage as "the attainment of sexual maturity by an organism still in its larval stage."
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Promises thrills galore but delivers only limp non-frights and predictable yawns. Read full review
20
SalonCharles Taylor
Such a blatant imitation of Adrian Lyne's Reaganite thriller that the only thing you can be grateful for is that it's far too clumsy to get people arguing about it or taking it seriously. Read full review
20
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
Doesn't even reach the campy, trashy highs (or should I say "lows"?) of "The Crush." Read full review
10
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
This predictable teenage take on the 'Fatal Attraction' formula goes from dumb to even dumber. Read full review
10
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It would be great to see this turd squashed under a truck, preferably a semi. Read full review
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