Old

Name: Old
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Released: July 23, 2021
Duration: 108 min
Rating: 55
Cast: Aaron Pierre, Abbey Lee, Alex Wolff, Eliza Scanlen, Embeth Davidtz

2021

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 53 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 185 Ratings

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5.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 185 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: July 23, 2021 | PG-13

Starring: Aaron Pierre, Abbey Lee, Alex Wolff, Eliza Scanlen, Embeth Davidtz, Gael García Bernal, Ken Leung, Nikki Amuka Bird, Rufus Sewell, Thomasin McKenzie, Vicky Krieps

Summary: A family on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly - reducing their entire lives into a single day.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 108 min

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Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Jul 22, 2021

The elements of silliness and deadly seriousness are nicely balanced and although I wasn’t absolutely sure about the ending, which has maybe too neat a bow tied on it, this is just very enjoyable and I was on the edge of my seat, not knowing whether to flinch or laugh, though I did both. Read full review

Richard Brody

Jul 23, 2021

With Old, facing the constraints of filming during the pandemic—on a project that he’d nonetheless planned before it—Shyamalan has created a splendid throwback of a science-fiction thriller that develops a simple idea with stark vigor and conveys the straight-faced glee of realizing the straightforward logic of its enticing absurdity. Read full review

K. Austin Collins

Jul 26, 2021

Old isn’t trying to be fashionable, low-fi, artisanal horror of the kind that seems to be setting the tone for the genre in the indie world. This is, instead, a credibly old-fashioned movie in some ways, a creature feature with something more diffuse than a “creature,” per se, a monster movie in which the monster is an unlucky pairing of longitude and latitude. Read full review

Mae Abdulbaki

Jul 22, 2021

While Old is certainly a different kind of thriller, with plenty of elements that work to create a sense of tranquility and desperation in equal measure, it grows wearisome as it evades its deeper themes for the thrill of that final discovery. Read full review

Kim Hughes

Jul 23, 2021

I have not read the graphic novel Sandcastle upon which Old is based so I can’t vouch for its faithfulness to the source material. But it’s hard to believe anyone would call this a winner. Read full review

John DeFore

Jul 22, 2021

Viewers who can take it at face value may find a chill or two here, but ultimately Old can’t escape the goofiness of its premise long enough to put its more poetic possibilities across successfully. Read full review

Richard Whittaker

Jul 22, 2021

To be fair, at least Old captures the sense of time passing past too fast: Rarely have I felt more like my life was slipping away in the cinema. Read full review

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User Reviews

hkdestiny

Jul 23, 2021

Once again, M. Night delivers something that it is worth thinking about long after the credits roll. I think it’s one of his more interesting films, particularly the end twist. Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

3 of 14 users found this helpful311

fatihqibrit

Oct 22, 2021

M Night Shyamalan.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

dharma

Sep 21, 2021

M Night will probably never reach the height of his career, with his brilliant The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. But he has a career resurgence as of late, and Old maintains that steady streak of quality, quirky thrillers that is his forte. It is surprisingly a heart rending affairM Night will probably never reach the height of his career, with his brilliant The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. But he has a career resurgence as of late, and Old maintains that steady streak of quality, quirky thrillers that is his forte. It is surprisingly a heart rending affair and has a strong social commentary on how we approach 'old age' in this modern society.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

MrJPrime

May 21, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I mean.... The poster gives away the whole movie. Decent but not great. The whole situation could have been avoided if they'd read the note earlier lol. Bad manners killed everyone. Still an interesting thought exercise if you want it to be about the changes a mind goes through as we age vs the changes we'd experience through our experiences. Whatever. It's OK… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

TVJerry

Jul 27, 2021

The subject is already apparent from the title and any press/previews. A group of people ends up on a beach where they rapidly age. Since it’s written/directed by M. Night Shyamalan you can hope for a suspenseful approach and dark thrills, plus a surprise twist. The revelation wasThe subject is already apparent from the title and any press/previews. A group of people ends up on a beach where they rapidly age. Since it’s written/directed by M. Night Shyamalan you can hope for a suspenseful approach and dark thrills, plus a surprise twist. The revelation was unexpected, but not shocking. The tension never manifests. It’s just a sci-fi mystery that’s only interest is watching how and when the cast will change. On the plus side, the beach is lovely and Shyamalan’s big-screen style keeps it visually attractive. Other than that, this is just a mediocre episode of The Twilight Zone. BTW, the director introduces the screening with a welcome back to the movies and he has a cameo as the van driver.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

akshatmahajan

Sep 23, 2021

This movie was same as Shyamalan's other movies, only this was bad. The concept was cool but like his most of the movies the execution was average. Many things worked against the movie, especially the acting. None of the actors gave a performance that you would remember. Acting was neitherThis movie was same as Shyamalan's other movies, only this was bad. The concept was cool but like his most of the movies the execution was average. Many things worked against the movie, especially the acting. None of the actors gave a performance that you would remember. Acting was neither average nor bad, it was worst. I am expecting Worst Actor and Worst Actress nominations and maybe winners from this movie.

The concept was different but the reason behind the concept was too much simple. If the writer is making a story then he should have a strong reason supporting the story but like other stories, Shyamalan did bad work here. Shyamalan's stories are always different and unique but the problem comes with the reason he gives at the end of the story. Overall, this movie is just a mare timepass and you may get bored after half way through. But you can watch give it a try for it's different concept.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

docpal

Aug 2, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Definitely, this script was written by a sexually frustrated junkie with a dumb brain; an actual film experiment went wrong! Well, these definitive vocabularies will describe the film: pathetic, dismal, dreary, heartbreaking, heartrending, melancholy, mournful, sad, saddening, sorry, tearful, asinine, balmy, brainless, bubbleheaded, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, feather-headed, fool, foolish, half-baked, half-witted, harebrained, inept, insane, jerky, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, lunkheaded, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), weak-minded, witless, zany and depressing! An absolute bad example of si-fi and creativity and was definitely written by a sexually frustrated junkie with a dumb brain. The worst depiction follows a cheating wife talking like a three-year-old, a kid who impregnates another kid, a kid asking her mom to change her bra because her breast doesn't fit in. The most horrible part was a cardiothoracic surgeon who doesn't know anything about medicine, so it seemed! Yes, it was a si-fi movie but for instance an example like Angelman syndrome could led a person have Intellectual disability forever and now in this film you depicted a 5 year old developing the brain and understating the full functionality of the human body? Growing one's hunger for sex and blah blah blah, are you kidding me? It could have been described better with unique creativity. And with all this, was this film rated PG-13? What! I couldn't understand why was your camera shaking while filming the movie, was it because to add some special effects? Didn't work though! This is what happens when people don't use their brains anymore! It could have been an epic with the concept, but alas, this experiment was unsuccessful! Don't watch this crap will just frustrate you even further!… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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