Film Review: "Old" (2021).

"A new trip from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan" comes Old. This supernatural mystery thriller written and directed by Shyamalan and inspired by the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters. This chilling, mysterious new thriller is about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly - reducing their entire lives into a single day.

In October 2019, it was announced that Shyamalan was partnering with Universal Studios to release two new thriller films which he would write, produce and direct, including this film. By late September 2020, Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Abbey Lee, Alex Wolff, Embeth Davidtz, Eliza Scanlen and Thomasin McKenzie were cast. Additionally, it was announced that the film's title was Old. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in mid November. Filming took place in Playa El Valle, Samana, the Dominican Republic and will be the first Shyamalan film to be shot on 35mm film stock since The Last Airbender (2010). All his projects since have been shot digitally. This marks the first time Shyamalan has filmed entirely outside Greater Philadelphia since his first film Praying with Anger (1992). The film was shot during the height of the global Coronavirus pandemic. Cast and crew had to be tested daily for potential infections. Before production, Shyamalan screened Walkabout (1971) and Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) for his cast and crew, which were said to be big influences on the style and tone that he wanted for the film. The film was initially set for a February 26 2021 release date, but was delayed to July 23, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film stars Bernal, Krieps, Sewell, Leung, Lee, Wolff, Davidtz, Scanlen and McKenzie. Thanks to the top-flight acting, the film is not a bad film, despite its goofy plot.

Old is among Shyamalan's salvageable films, in which he uses ignorance and superstition to keep a group of people in the woods away from evil creatures. Shyamalan keeps the story vague enough to work up to his plot twist, and while I won't reveal it here, I will say that I don't think the payoff is worth it. Shyamalan remains ever the master of mood and of unseen, inchoate menace; he can give depth and gravity to scenes that in other hands would be either boring or ridiculous. If you're willing to follow Shyamalan wherever he goes in his inquiry into how ageing terrifies us, he leads you into provocative, if uneven, territory. The film's biggest disservice is Shyamalan's uneven, confusing script that concludes with a surprise, but a dismal one. In a time when Hollywood is more interested in remakes and sequels than in original movies, Shyamalan continues to tell new stories. And he's really good at it. Just as The Sixth Sense meditated on those stuck in endless cycles of grief. This film shines light on another basic human truth: our lifelong fear of ageing.

Simon says Old receives:

Also, see my review for Glass.