M. Night Shyamalan’s Old is a filmic journey that embodies the human condition our finite time, worst fears, and our lasting relationships. Much more than a thriller, it’s a thoughtful examination of the inexorable rate of life, conceived from a personal idea and realized through a filmmaker’s dedication to daring, fresh storytelling. Its disturbing premise and addictive presentation draw audiences into a temporal hell where each passing second increases the stakes, making it an engrossing, unforgettable drama.
The Personal Spark Behind Old
The concept for Old started not with terror, but with a soft spot. In 2017, Shyamalan was given a Father’s Day present: the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters. This humble gesture kindled a spark of creativity, leading him to reimagine its eerie idea for the big screen. This creation story shows how a deep work of art can come from close, surprising places, leading to a film that speaks volumes.
A Commitment to Original Storytelling
Shyamalan’s passion for creating original stories is on full display in Old. His 2019 collaboration with Universal Pictures was founded on mutual interest in making original films. Universal’s President Peter Cramer acknowledged Shyamalan’s projects as being innovative, and the director himself cited original stories as essential to the theatrical experience. That passion pervades every image of Old, making it a highlight of his work and proof of the strength of original cinema.
A Terrifying Premise
At its essence, Old is about a deceptively simple yet terrifying premise: a team of strangers on an isolated beach, aging at an extraordinary rate. It’s an idea that touches a shared sense of fear of time’s march, removing the comfort of slow transformation and pushing characters into a spiraling abyss at an incredible pace. The visceral effect of the premise compels both characters and audiences to look directly at the harsh fact of mortality, compelling a story that’s as much to think about as it is disturbing.
A Diverse Ensemble Under Pressure
The Cappa Family
The movie opens with Guy Cappa (Gael García Bernal), an actuary, and Prisca Cappa (Vicky Krieps), a museum curator who has a slowly growing ovarian tumor. They are accompanied on one last family vacation by their children, Maddox and Trent, in this tenuous emotional foundation.
The Supporting Cast
The other residents of the beach are Charles (Rufus Sewell), a schizophrenic doctor, and his wife Chrystal, who suffers from hypocalcemia, and their daughter Kara. They are joined by Patricia, an epileptic psychologist, and her nurse husband Jarin, as well as Brendan, a rapper with hemophilia. Every character’s illness is made the callous target of the beach’s time stream anomaly, and the horror gets amplified. Unfolding Horror on the Beach
It starts with the Cappa family arriving at a tropical resort, where free alcohol and children befriending Idlib, the nephew of the manager, provide an idyllic veneer. Undercurrents of tension are present as Maddox and Trent eavesdrop on arguments between their parents. The resort manager’s offer of a private beach appears to be a luxury, but it soon turns into a nightmare. The party finds Brendan’s friend dead, and Charles’s suspicion of Brendan, accompanied by nosebleeds, suggests that there are underlying vulnerabilities.
The real horror comes when Maddox and Trent turn into teenagers within their parents’ lifetime. Charles’s mother, Agnes, suddenly passes away, unveiling the beach’s dreaded influence: it speeds up aging, with 30 minutes flying by for every year. There is no way to escape attempts result in blackouts, confining all the characters to this time prison. The beach takes advantage of every medical condition of the characters, converting weaknesses into gruesome ends.
Escalating Terrors and Tragic Losses
The beach’s heartless mechanics take their toll quickly. Charles assaults Brendan, whose hemophilia accelerates healing but doesn’t save him. Prisca’s tumour expands malignantly, and Charles is reduced to a desperate surgery. Brendan’s friend’s body breaks down in hours, a grim reminder of the compressed time frame. Kara’s accelerated pregnancy is tragic as her baby starves in minutes, a reminder of the beach’s heartless warping of time.
Throughout the day, the psychological strain becomes more intense. Charles’s schizophrenia compels him to murder Brendan. Jarin drowns while trying to swim for assistance, Kara dies by falling off a mountain, and Patricia dies of a seizure that proves to be fatal. Guy’s eyesight becomes blurred, and Prisca’s hearing becomes lost, representing their waning lives. In the midst of it all, Trent and Maddox discover a notebook of former victims, inferring a malevolent power behind the violence at the beach.
A Climax of Desperation and Peace
Nightfall heralds violence and despair. Charles, during a schizophrenic attack, slashes Guy and Prisca. Chrystal’s hypocalcemia results in a bone rupture, which kills her in a gruesome manner. Prisca, defending herself, administers a fatal infection with a rusted knife to Charles. During all this brutality, Guy and Prisca get peace, forgiving each other as they die within minutes of each other, a testament to love’s strength.
By dawn, only Trent and Maddox are left, middle-aged now but stoic. They construct a sandcastle, mirroring the graphic novel title and their youth. A hidden message in Idlib hints at a coral underwater passage. On a risky adventure, they swim through it, beating the trap of the beach.
The Shocking Truth
The twist in the film exposes the resort to be a cover for Warren & Warren, a pharmaceutical firm running covert drug trials. By spiking the beverages of guests, scientists take advantage of the time dilation on the beach to test medications on people with illnesses and finish trials for a lifetime within a day. This is a spine-chilling finding that transforms the terror from supernatural to human brutality. Maddox and Trent, who survive their swim, utilize the notebook to reveal the truth to a visiting policeman, Greg Mitchel. The researchers get arrested, and the siblings are reunited with their aunt, closing on a positive note of justice and hope.
Thematic Depth: Time and Connection
Old is a meditation on humanity’s relationship with time, amplified by the beach’s relentless pace. Shyamalan noted the film reflects our “dysfunctional relationship to time,” a theme resonant post-COVID, as Alex Wolff observed, likening it to the pandemic’s disruption of time’s flow. The film explores aging, mortality, and resilience, with some characters finding peace amid chaos.
Cast lends nuance to these topics. Nikki Amuka-Bird interprets a caution against the assumption of nature, and Gael García Bernal emphasizes how time touches individuals uniquely. Vicky Krieps underscores love and family as powers greater than fear, rendering Old a deep dive into human connection.
Creating a Cinematic Hell
Shooting during a Pandemic
Filmed in the Dominican Republic from September 26, 2020, Old was Shyamalan’s first non-Philadelphia filmed movie. It withstood COVID-19 and hurricane season, and safety throughout the production was ensured without a single positive case. The $18 million budget enabled shooting on 35mm at Playa El Valle, producing a claustrophobic yet breathtaking site inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa’s style.
Shyamalan’s Vision
Taking inspiration from movies such as Walkabout and The Exterminating Angel, Shyamalan designed a mix of horror and existential terror. His daughters helped a lot: Ishana supervised second-unit nature photography, and Saleka wrote the song “Remain,” adding to the emotional center. Careful storyboards and Michael Gioulakis’s camera work created a rich, immersive experience.
Post-Production and Release
Directed by Brett M. Reed and scored by Trevor Gureckis, Old opened on July 23, 2021, after pandemic-related postponements. A Super Bowl teaser, Snapchat aging filter, and trailers had fans waiting, with the filter accumulating 23 million views. The movie grossed $90.2 million at the worldwide box office, leading the box office despite a 60% second-weekend fall.
Critical Reception and Lasting Impact
Critics were split, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 50% approval rating and Metacritic rating it 55/100. Some, such as Wendy Ide, panned the dialogue, while others, such as Nick Allen, praised its dark sense of humor. Cinematography and premise were praised, with Richard Brody describing it as having “potent fantasy.” Dorian, Saturn, and People’s Choice Awards nominations confirmed its impact.
Old is a brash addition to Shyamalan’s body of work, defying expectations and challenging us to consider time, family, and survival. Its unsettling premise and detailed construction make it stay with you, proof that original storytelling continues to hold its power.
