"Old," Shyamalan's newest twisty thriller, based on the comic "Sandcastle" shows Shyamalan still has some tricks in his bag.
When Gai and Priska take their precocious children on a beach retreat, they are wowed by the high quality service of the resort. Along with a few other guests, they all venture to a secluded beach that is of insane beauty. Strangely, though, it's not an hour later and the oldest member is dead, and the children have begun growing out of their beachwear.
As the frightened strangers try to make sense of their predicament, the various illnesses, disabilities and hereditary problems of each quickly begin knocking them down, far faster than should be possible. With no way off the beach, they must race against the aging process to find a way back to safety, if there is one.
Shyamalan does great work on a tight budget here. Relying on sound effects and still camera work, Shyamalan prefers not to show the gore and horror, letting the characters' reactions tell us the story. In fact, I don't think since "The Village" has Shyamalan managed to craft such an effective character drama. Each inevitible demise is grounded in story and character work, with every member of the cast giving their best to portray the absolute madness of the situation these families and friends find themselves in. The younger cast, especially, have to balance an incredibly tricky task of being pre-pubescent children who've entered their late teens in just two hours.
Sometimes harrowing, sometimes horrifying (the fate of one calcium deficient beauty model is a nice call back to Shymalan's horror roots), often pressing, "Old" manages to keep the story alive, even as the cast dwindles at an increasingly speedy rate. It's also a great feat of storytelling that, after the twist is revealed in the first act, Shyamalan and his team keep the plot compelling as the characters' individual fates befall them.
Ultimately, this is a simple story, with a sad, banal reveal at the end as to why it's happening. Even if the final moments are more wish fulfilment for its survivors than the believable ending of this specific story, it wraps up satisfyingly after a dark hour and a half spent on a beautiful coast line.
When Gai and Priska take their precocious children on a beach retreat, they are wowed by the high quality service of the resort. Along with a few other guests, they all venture to a secluded beach that is of insane beauty. Strangely, though, it's not an hour later and the oldest member is dead, and the children have begun growing out of their beachwear.
As the frightened strangers try to make sense of their predicament, the various illnesses, disabilities and hereditary problems of each quickly begin knocking them down, far faster than should be possible. With no way off the beach, they must race against the aging process to find a way back to safety, if there is one.
Shyamalan does great work on a tight budget here. Relying on sound effects and still camera work, Shyamalan prefers not to show the gore and horror, letting the characters' reactions tell us the story. In fact, I don't think since "The Village" has Shyamalan managed to craft such an effective character drama. Each inevitible demise is grounded in story and character work, with every member of the cast giving their best to portray the absolute madness of the situation these families and friends find themselves in. The younger cast, especially, have to balance an incredibly tricky task of being pre-pubescent children who've entered their late teens in just two hours.
Sometimes harrowing, sometimes horrifying (the fate of one calcium deficient beauty model is a nice call back to Shymalan's horror roots), often pressing, "Old" manages to keep the story alive, even as the cast dwindles at an increasingly speedy rate. It's also a great feat of storytelling that, after the twist is revealed in the first act, Shyamalan and his team keep the plot compelling as the characters' individual fates befall them.
Ultimately, this is a simple story, with a sad, banal reveal at the end as to why it's happening. Even if the final moments are more wish fulfilment for its survivors than the believable ending of this specific story, it wraps up satisfyingly after a dark hour and a half spent on a beautiful coast line.