“Infinity Pool” Had Great Horror Ideas, But Lacked a Proper Execution

I have waited way too long to talk about Infinity Pool. I actually had watched this film a year ago, in October, and I’m just going to admit it straight out: I was so bored.

You would think that a horror movie that focuses on the concept of clones would be a great time, right? Well, in this case, I wasn’t that big a fan of how the clone idea was tackled.

The story follows a guy named James Foster, a book author looking for a new idea to begin working on his new novel. He decides to travel with his wife to an island to spend some time together.

Here, they meet another couple, Gabi and Alban, who decide to spend some time with James and his wife. James takes a huge liking to Gabi, and ends up cheating on his wife with her in one scene.

Like really, dude? Come on…

Then, disaster strikes when both couples accidentally kill someone while driving down the road. They quickly leave the scene, afraid of getting busted for the crime. James and his wife are instantly caught for killing the man, and are given a strange option.

They can clone themselves, so that their clones would be punished for their crime instead.

This idea was freaking awesome, but the execution could have been better.

When I first heard this punishment option given to James and his wife, I was immediately intrigued. That is some messed up psychological damage right there. I felt so bad for James having to witness himself die.

I kept expecting the film to continue down this road, but instead… I was left so confused. James decides to stay longer on the island, telling his wife that she can leave. She gets frustrated with him, but decides to escape.

James spends time with Gabi, her husband, and her group of friends, where he embarks on a journey of insanity. They break into people’s houses, commit acts of violence and other sick stuff, and even watch their own clones die after being punished for committing their crimes.

James even runs into clone versions that Gabi and her group created to mess with his head, leading James down a spiral of madness.

This idea is cool, but I was hoping for something more. I don’t mind psychological horror — I think it’s really great — but I felt like it was really lacking here.

I kept hoping for James to suddenly realize that he was actually one of the clones, and was never the real James to begin with, but a neat twist like that never came.

I think I would have loved if the film had focused on the different clones of James instead.

Like, what if they actually had killed the real James? What if they ended up cloning him multiple times, and each clone was struggling to navigate in their new world?

That idea would have been masterful, and so disturbing.

And I was hoping to feel any sort of feeling, but I just felt bored. I literally just kept on munching Hot Cheetos, waiting for the film to finish.

At least the ending was interesting...because the buildup to the ending was so weird. It was overly weird, and I was not a fan of how crazy the group was getting throughout the film. It didn't really fit the vibe I was looking for, and I don't think that was what the director should have gone for.

The movie ends with James never leaving the island, never going back to his wife, because it's implied that he lost his mind at the end of the movie.

This ending could have worked and would been memorable for me, but man, I was not a fan of what happened before.

It had a great introduction, and a good ending, but the buildup could have been executed better.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn