Drowning Echo asks the question: What if your swimming pool was… evil?

Drowning Echo, High Octane Pictures latest film, takes a swan dive into the deep end of creature features but never quite sticks its landing.

Drowning Echo attempts to answer the age old question, what lurks in the deep end of your swimming pool? Not that anyone has ever pondered that before…

Drowning Echo – A Damp Ghost Story

As a kid, owning your own swimming pool was equivocal to being famous. You wanted to hang out at the house with the sprawling oasis in the backyard. Living in an apartment complex or town home came with the added perk of a free all-access to pass to the local pool.

But what if your swimming pool was actually home to an ancient evil being? I’ll admit, it’s not a question I’ve often pondered, yet it is the only one Drowning Echo considers.

Directed by Georges Padey, Drowning Echo is about a young woman named Sara (Itziar Martinez, who also co-wrote the film with Padey) who drives down to Florida to spend some time with her old friends Will (Sean Ormond) and his wife Lindsay (Natalie Blackman).

After a late-night swim, Sara realizes there is a malevolent being haunting the deep end of the complex swimming pool. If she doesn’t stop it then everyone who comes in contact with the water will be in grave danger.

Drowning Echo – Pictured: Itziar Martinez as Sara – Photo Courtesy of October Coast PR

I give Drowning Echo credit for taking an unorthodox approach to the idea of an underwater creature feature. There are some cool effects, and at least one notable jump scare, dispersed throughout the film. Even the CGI isn’t half-bad for what is obviously a low-budget film.

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My main wish for this film is that it were about 30 minutes shorter as it is often sprawling, with the story traveling in too many directions for it to make any sense. It feels as if the film’s writers had several great ideas and tried to merge them all into one, resulting in a seemingly endless horror film.

For a while, Drowning Echo morphs into a paranormal found footage movie involving chaotic dark monks and old Grecian lore.

Too many disjointed storylines create a muddled plot more distorted than anything that comes out of the water.

What disappointed me most was the lack of a giant sea monster! Based on the film’s poster, which features a woman being strangled by gargantuan octopus legs, I assumed the pool would be housing a creature straight out of a Lovecraft story.

Instead what I got was a watered down version of that – no pun intended. I suppose the budget wouldn’t have allowed it but I think I would have preferred cheap, sparingly used CGI tentacles to a damp, plodding ghost story.

Is Drowning Echo a film I would recommend? Probably not. I’ll give it credit for being ambitious in its storytelling but ultimately the length and aimlessness of the plot prevents this film from being great or even so-bad-its-good, instead it settles for a lukewarm mediocre. Final Score: C-

Drowning Echo will be available on VOD and DVD April 4 from High Octane Pictures.

Would you watch Drowning Echo? Let us know in the comments.