Bryce McGuire

Early work and short films

McGuire began directing short films in 2008, starting with A Pistol in Hand Is Worth Two in the Glove Box.^[3] Over the next several years, he directed and wrote a series of shorts, including Jesus Fish (2013), The Whistler (2013), and Veladora (2013).^{[citation needed]}

In 2014, McGuire wrote and co-directed the short film Night Swim with his frequent collaborator Rod Blackhurst. The four-minute film depicted a woman swimming alone in a pool at night, terrorised by an unseen presence. They self-funded the production and shot it in a single night in a Valley apartment pool.^[6] The short went viral online and attracted industry attention, though McGuire did not initially plan to expand it into a feature.^[7]

McGuire directed his first feature film, Unfollowed (2018), a screenlife supernatural horror film with social media themes, starring McKaley Miller and Brendan Meyer.^[3]

Professional screenwriting

Following Unfollowed, McGuire spent several years working as a professional screenwriter in Hollywood. He adapted material for Amblin Partners^[8], wrote the screenplay for Baghead for StudioCanal, and did rewrite work for Blumhouse Productions, all before returning to the director's chair for the feature version of Night Swim.^[9]

Baghead, directed by Alberto Corredor and co-written by McGuire with Christina Pamies, was released in 2023. The folk horror film, starring Freya Allan and Peter Mullan, follows a young woman who inherits a dilapidated pub and discovers a shape-shifting creature in its basement.^[2]

Night Swim (2024)

For three years after making the 2014 short, McGuire resisted expanding it, concerned that the concept could not sustain a feature-length narrative without becoming repetitive.^[10] He ultimately found the story's emotional core after his friend and AFI classmate Dan Myers was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which inspired the central dramatic thread of the film: a family reckoning with a father's degenerative illness.^[6] McGuire developed a mythology for the pool drawing on folklore about water worship and wishing wells in Gaelic and Celtic traditions.^[10]

McGuire sent the short film to producer James Wan along with a 15-page prose treatment.^[5] Wan, who watched the short while swimming in his own pool at night, was reportedly frightened by it and agreed to produce the feature through his Atomic Monster banner.^[11] Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures subsequently came on board, making Night Swim the first theatrical release following the merger of Atomic Monster and Blumhouse.^[12]

The film starred Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon, with Amélie Hoeferle and Gavin Warren as their children.^[13] McGuire cited Jaws (1975), Poltergeist (1982), The Abyss (1989), and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) as key influences, and has noted that the crew affectionately referred to the project as "Pooltergeist".^[14]

Night Swim was released in the United States on January 5, 2024. It opened to $12 million domestically, finishing second behind Wonka in its opening weekend, and earned a total of approximately $54.8 million worldwide against a production budget of $15 million.^[15][16] While the film was considered financially profitable due to its modest budget, it received largely negative reviews from critics, holding a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and earned a "C" grade from CinemaScore.^[15][17]

Subsequent projects

McGuire served as a producer on Dolly (2025), a slasher film directed by his longtime collaborator Rod Blackhurst.^[18] The film, shot on 16 mm film in the Chattanooga area, premiered at the Fantastic Fest in September 2025 and was acquired by Shudder and Independent Film Company for distribution.^[19]

McGuire and Blackhurst are co-founders of the Witchcraft Motion Picture Company, a production collective based in Chattanooga, which produced Dolly and other genre projects.^[4][19] McGuire has expressed interest in bringing more film production to Chattanooga and has been involved in efforts to build soundstages in the city and advocate for tax incentives to compete with nearby Atlanta.^[4]

His upcoming projects include Bad Bloom, a horror film that McGuire is set to write and direct and stars Vera Farmiga.^[20]

Feature film

Short film

Television

Additional literary material

• Imaginary (2024)