🎬 Old (2021)
Trailer provided by Universal Pictures via Youtube
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Release Date: July 23, 2021
Genre: Body Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan (screenplay), based on Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Lévy & Frederik Peeters
Production Budget: $18 million
Box Office: $90 million
Studio: Universal Pictures
Cast:
- Gael GarcÃa Bernal as Guy Cappa
- Vicky Krieps as Prisca Cappa
- Rufus Sewell as Charles
- Alex Wolff as Trent (teen)
- Thomasin McKenzie as Maddox (teen)
- Abbey Lee as Chrystal
- Nikki Amuka-Bird as Patricia
- Ken Leung as Jarin
- Eliza Scanlen as Kara
- Aaron Pierre as Mid-Sized Sedan
- Embeth Davidtz as Adult Maddox
- Emun Elliott as Adult Trent
- M. Night Shyamalan (cameo)
A Vacation Gone Very Wrong: Shyamalan’s Latest Experiment in Time and Terror
Old, the 2021 body horror thriller from M. Night Shyamalan, is a film that dares to blend existential dread with pulpy mystery, set on an idyllic tropical beach that turns into a surreal nightmare. Loosely adapted from the graphic novel Sandcastle, Shyamalan brings his signature twist-heavy storytelling into an atmospheric, high-concept chamber piece that questions the very nature of time and aging.
The premise is both fascinating and terrifying: a group of strangers, vacationing at a luxurious but mysterious resort, are taken to a secluded beach where they begin to age rapidly—losing years of their lives in mere hours. What begins as a dreamy escape soon spirals into a claustrophobic countdown to death.
A Premise with Intriguing Potential
From the outset, Old presents a concept that is inherently unsettling. Time becomes a merciless antagonist. Children grow into adults in a matter of hours. Adults become elderly and frail. Illnesses escalate at an accelerated pace. The beach, surrounded by towering cliffs and impenetrable rock formations, traps the characters in an inescapable fate.
The idea of compressing an entire human lifespan into a single day is rich with metaphorical possibility. It speaks to the fleeting nature of life, the trauma of watching loved ones change and deteriorate, and the helplessness of being unable to stop time. Old taps into primal fears—aging, death, separation, loss of control—and wraps them in a sci-fi thriller package.
Ensemble Cast Caught in a Time Warp
The ensemble cast carries the emotional and narrative weight of the film. Gael GarcÃa Bernal and Vicky Krieps (of Phantom Thread fame) play Guy and Prisca Cappa, a couple on the brink of separation who bring their two children to the beach for one last family vacation. Their strained relationship becomes even more complicated as their kids rapidly transform before their eyes.
Alex Wolff (Hereditary) and Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) deliver strong performances as the teen versions of Trent and Maddox, capturing the confusion and loss that comes with growing up far too fast. Their transformation scenes are particularly poignant, as the innocence of childhood vanishes within hours.
Rufus Sewell plays Charles, a doctor with deteriorating mental health, whose paranoia becomes a catalyst for violence. Abbey Lee, as his much younger wife Chrystal, provides a darkly tragic figure obsessed with beauty, becoming one of the most disturbing representations of vanity in the face of unstoppable aging.
Each character embodies a theme—health, beauty, mental illness, family dysfunction, mortality. But with limited time and so many players, not all arcs land with equal impact.
Shyamalan’s Style: Strengths and Shortcomings
M. Night Shyamalan is no stranger to polarizing cinema, and Old is no exception. His direction is ambitious, at times elegant, at others disjointed. He uses long, fluid camera movements and experimental framing to evoke unease and disorientation. Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis (who also worked on Us and It Follows) plays with perspective to emphasize the loss of time and control.
However, Shyamalan’s dialogue remains one of his consistent weaknesses. Much of the script feels unnatural or forced, especially in the early scenes. Characters often speak in exposition-heavy lines or awkward observations that don’t quite mirror real human behavior. While the bizarre setting allows for some suspension of disbelief, the emotional beats sometimes fail to resonate due to this wooden delivery.
Shyamalan also appears in his now-traditional cameo—this time as a resort employee monitoring the beach from afar—underscoring the film’s twist: that the beach is part of a secret medical experiment conducted by a pharmaceutical company. It’s a classic Shyamalan twist, meant to recontextualize everything we’ve seen, but it lands with mixed results. While the reveal is logically sound, it undercuts some of the emotional power of the characters’ personal journeys by turning the entire ordeal into a scientific trial rather than a cosmic or metaphorical phenomenon.
A Body Horror Concept That Plays with Existential Dread
Where Old succeeds is in its ability to provoke visceral reactions. The body horror is subtle but deeply unsettling. A tumor grows to the size of a melon in minutes. Bones fracture and heal incorrectly in seconds. A woman with a calcium deficiency becomes a literal contorted shell of herself.
But even more disturbing than the physical horror is the emotional one: a child who grows up in an afternoon, only to see their parents die of old age before sunset. A mother loses her child to time she can’t control. A young woman gives birth only to lose the baby within minutes. These are haunting moments that linger long after the credits roll.
The aging effects are impressively handled through both makeup and casting, with adult actors taking over child roles as they age. It’s a clever solution to a challenging cinematic problem and is pulled off with surprising effectiveness.
Final Thoughts: An Ambitious Idea with Flawed Execution
Old is a movie that’s greater in concept than in execution. Its central idea is undeniably compelling, and its exploration of time as both a narrative device and thematic concern is bold. But the script’s clunky dialogue, uneven pacing, and sometimes shallow character development prevent it from reaching its full potential.
Still, it’s a unique entry in the modern thriller genre—one that’s willing to experiment, take risks, and force audiences to confront uncomfortable truths. Shyamalan remains a director who divides opinion, but with Old, he once again proves he’s unafraid to pursue strange and original stories.
If you’re a fan of high-concept horror or enjoy films that prompt existential reflection, Old is worth the watch. Just be prepared for a few awkward lines and a twist that may not satisfy everyone.
Verdict: While not one of Shyamalan’s best, Old stands out for its daring premise and eerie atmosphere. A flawed but fascinating meditation on the human lifespan and the fragility of time.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
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