Despite the fact that I’ve only seen four of his films, from those four and the abundance of press I’ve witnessed his other films get, I believe I recognise M. Night Shyamalan’s strengths and weaknesses as a writer and director. His recent effort, Old, mostly features his strengths however his weaknesses emerge on occasion and when they do, they’re hard to ignore.

This horror thriller sees a bunch of holidaymakers at a resort, where they receive exclusive access to a secluded beach. They soon realise that not only are they trapped on the coast but that time moves rapidly in the area, condensing the rest of their lives in to a matter of days.

The Characters

I think in horror stories, you don’t really get to know the characters until they meet the threat. Most horror films don’t open with the protagonist looking up into the sky, hoping for an adventure or a change, what they want tends to be to flee from the terror that’s chasing them. That’s not to say that all horror protagonists don’t have desires or internal motivations. It’s just difficult to spot when, most of the time, their actions are motivated by an exterior force i.e. the horror.

I believe that the main characters in Old can be interpreted as both classic horror protagonists and general run-of-the-mill protagonists. They’re a nuclear family, consisting of a father, a mother, an 11-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. Before they go to the beach, we spend a lot of time with them. We learn that the parents are planning to divorce, that the mother has a certain health condition and that they’ve arranged this holiday purely for their children’s sake. We see that they think of time only in the long term, they’re unable to recognise the things they have in the present. It’s this flaw that the plot quite literally exploits when it traps the parents in a place where they’re forced to make time for what they really care about.

In principle they’re good horror characters as they have internal desires and motivations that’re attacked by the film’s horror. The other characters are variations on the parents’ flaw, serving as examples of their attitude and of course meat for the beach’s body count.  

While there aren’t many jump scares or graphic scenes, Old does feature sequences designed to disturb and disgust because it is, in part, a horror film. There are many upsetting scenes, many involving the son and daughter. At one point their bodies resemble those of full grown adults, which is deeply disturbing because you know that mentally they’re still children. The adult characters suffer in their own way as their bodies gradually deteriorate and weaken.

Old looks and plays like a strong horror thriller for the most part but as I suggested at the beginning, as well as showcasing his brilliance, the film also showcases Shyamalan’s folly.

The Execution

When I say execution I’m specifically referring to the dialogue and the direction given to the actors performing it. There are lines that are so obliviously silly yet delivered with such sincerity by the actors that it’s impossible not to chuckle. There are scenes that are clearly supposed to be scary and they are, until a certain character delivers a certain line in a certain way that completely obliterates the scene’s atmosphere. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the glorious unintentional comedy of The Happening and After Earth. Unlike those films however, Old gets a lot right which makes what it gets wrong that much more noticeable and destructive.

To be fair to Shyamalan, he gave himself quite the challenge by selecting this project as making a horror thriller where adult actors have to act like children all the while maintaining a serious tone is not easy. Perhaps Shyamalan should be forgiven for the few lapses in his execution, at least he was trying something more radical. With a rewrite and better direction, Old could’ve been one of Shyamalan’s most notable works. Not on par with The Sixth Sense but way more affective and memorable than Signs (now you know the four films of his I’ve seen).

It’ll lose you at certain moments but for the most part Old is a decent and engaging thriller with a good concept and good characters. If you’re into Shyamalan I highly recommend it as it does exemplify his talents. If you’re not, I’d still say go see it. It has its issues but it’s a fun watch.

I give Old a complimentary 7 out of 10.