Old

Spoilers for OLD to follow.

In this house, we stan M. Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable are stone cold classics that highlight the absolute best the filmmaker has to offer. The Village and Signs both feature exhilarating sequences that are carefully crafted by Shyamalan, and if nothing else, I think he is a severely underrated director in terms of pure craft. Has he made some bad movies? Yes, but he is also one of the only directors in Hollywood consistently putting out original, dramatic thrillers, and that alone is worth keeping him around.

OLD, the filmmakers latest, finds the director closer to Twilight Zone territory than he’s ever been, as we follow multiple families that find out that the secluded beach they are staying at is somehow forcing them to age so rapidly that it’s reducing their entire life to a single day.

Unfortunately, OLD isn’t among M. Night’s best, but it’s not among his worst either! Instead, it turns out to be very mediocre, landing somewhere in the middle of his varied filmography.

There’s a lot to like about the film. The whole cast is great. Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicky Krieps are completely believable as a the main couple who just happen to be taking their last vacation as a family before the parents separate (the idea being they tell the kids when they get home). Both go back and forth between family drama and scifi mind fuck with ease, making them ideal for the directors vision.

Shyamalan also smartly put recognizable character actors to round out the cast like Rufus Sewel (Dark City), Alex Wolf (Hereditary), Abbey Lee (The Neon Demon, Mad Max: Fury Road), Ken Luang (Lost) and newcomers Thomasin McKenzie and Aaron Pierre, all of whom fit perfectly into Shyamalan’s vibe.

The director has numerous scenes with extended single take shots. Shyamalan is no stranger to this, and here his work is reliably precise and well put together. I love the way he moves a camera, using it like a tool to ramp up suspense and tension.

He even manages to cleverly slide in some sly social commentary at multiple points in the film without ever being overbearing.

But for the life of me I just could not find it in myself to care about any of it. Despite the craftsmanship and credible performances, the story just doesn’t have much pull to it, and as a result it’s hard to care much about what happens. The whole concept of a spot on Earth that does this is definitely a cool idea, and overall I think Shyamalan nails the previously mentioned Twilight Zone vibe, but overall the movie never really gels into anything terrifying or thought provoking.

As for the infamous Shyamalan ending, it’s definitely over the top, but like the rest of the movie, it thinks it’s more shocking than it actually is. I don’t want to completely spoil it for those still wanting to check it out, but I would check your expectations in that it’s not some twist where it’s like an alternate reality or Bruce Willis has been dead the whole time or anything like that. Once last time, think Twilight Zone vibe. Still, even with proper expectations, the ending does little to save the film.

Overall, OLD is a well made but mostly lifeless thriller, but despite the films mediocrity, I can safely say I’m still team Shyamalan. Here’s hoping he nails the next one.