Book Review: Cullen Wade ventures into the pool in S(P)lasher Flicks: The Swimming Pool in Horror Cinema

Cover Photo Courtesy of McFarland Books

On those hot summer days, what sounds better than a quick dip in the pool? Well, nothing. It’s the perfect way to cool off in the heat. However, Cullen Wade’s exploration of the swimming pool in S(P)lasher Flicks: The Swimming Pole in Horror Cinema (McFarland Publishing, 2026) may have you thinking otherwise.

At first glance, a reader may believe that the swimming pool couldn’t possibly be prevalent enough in horror films that it would warrant a whole book. Wade, however, is quick to prove this thought wrong.  He divides the book into three general themes that explore the image of the swimming pool as a plot device, a setting, and an important metaphor.  He also notes that in many films, the swimming pool can be seen as a tool for character development.

In the first section aptly titled “Something in the Water: The Pool as a Site for Secrets” Wade explains, “At its most basic, a swimming pool is a hole in the ground.”  But this hole, as discussed in this section, can hold a lot – monsters, dead bodies, and all kinds of secrets are common things that can be found in this watery spot.  In one chapter, Wade discusses the importance of swimming pools in haunted houses.  For instance, in the film House, the swimming pool is used as an image that links the main character’s two biggest life traumas: his experience in the Vietnam War and the loss of his son who has disappeared.   In another film, Burnt Offerings, the swimming pool reflects the evil in the house as it serves as a site of violence when the father tries to drown his son. Certainly, a swimming pool is not the first image that comes to mind when most of us think of what can be found in a haunted house, but Wade's exploration proves that pools serve as strong metaphors for evil, transformation, and violence.

In another part of this section, Wade looks at the much more real monster in the swimming pool. Joe Dante’s film Piranha starts off in a pool before the action moves to the open water, thus carefully balancing the “tension between pool and river.”  In the 1980’s film Alligator, a baby alligator is released into the city’s sewers, somehow growing up into a monster that terrorizes the city. The swimming pool comes into play when a group of children playing pirates nudges one child into the water (and into the mouth of the alligator) by making him walk the plank. (I have to admit that this scene scared me to death when I saw this movie as a child).  In the 2018 film, The Pool, a drained swimming pool is the site of a confrontation with a crocodile, and in Crawl, the protagonist competing in a swimming pool is the opening scene – a scene that foreshadows her battle with an alligator later in the film.  

In the next section of the book titled “Adult Swim: The Pool as a Site for Sexuality,” Wade tackles sexuality, violence and the swimming pool in horror films. He starts by looking at the film Cat People and its infamous pool scene. In this scene, the two female characters are juxtaposed in a pool setting, with one character swimming while the other looms over her at the pool’s edge. Wade notes that this is one of the most studied moments in film history, but he also adds his own thoughts, saying that the swimming pool serves as a mechanism to contrast these two characters in a variety of ways.

Wade also examines other films, especially those where the swimming pool serves as a place of violence and revenge. He reviews the pool scene in Jennifer’s Body, where the main character, Jennifer, attacks her best friend’s boyfriend. In the film Revenge, the swimming pool represents an oasis, as the ending shot is the main character who stands at the end of a pool triumphant over her revenge against the man who sexually assaulted her and those who tried to kill her. Wade also does not overlook the idea that the swimming pool image can also be a symbol of misogyny, especially during the wave of slasher films of the 1970s and 1980s where victims are often found either fighting for their lives near swimming pools or floating in the water after being killed.

Finally, in the book’s last section, titled “A Dip in the Labor Pool: The Pool as a Site of Social Segregation” Wade examines the role of the swimming hole in the United States social history.  The reality is, Wade explains, “the swimming pool has been fraught with social tension since the early 20^th century.” Race discrimination is not the only thing that has kept people out of the pool.  Indeed, as Wade states, “Class, employment, geography, housing status, physical ability, neurodivergence, political affiliations, and perceived involvement with stereotyped subcultures” have all been used as weapons in segregation, and thus, may be explored in one way or another in the horror film.  For instance, in In the 1989 film, Society, a swimming pool is used as a metaphor for class conformity, while A Cure for Wellness offers a critique of the eugenics movement.

Throughout the entire book, Wade illustrates his points with both shots from various films and specific examples. He also cites many texts, including those that explore the history of swimming pools in the United States and the cultural impact of pools. Wade's book, in spite of the numerous films that are explored, never feels overwhelming, and instead, will lead any reader to think more about the images of swimming pools in horror films. Indeed, anyone who reads this book may think twice about cooling off in a swimming pool, even in the worst of the summer heat.

S(P)laster Flicks: The Swimming Pool in Horror Cinema by Cullen Wade was published by McFarland Books. The website is https://mcfarlandbooks.com/.