A new psychological horror-thriller written, directed, and produced by the visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is due out later this year. As is his fashion, he will tickle the cerebrum of your brain. It is not often that Shymalan will take on the adaptation of something such as this. However, it seems the filmmaker was inspired by the original outside source. The film was inspired by the graphic novel of Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters—Sandcastle.
Titled Old, the film offers a chilling tale based around a family who is on holiday on a tropical island. However, in just a few hours after arriving, they find that the secluded beach they had hoped to relax on is somehow causing each of them to rapidly age—which reduces their entire remaining lives into the span of one single day.
Principle production on the mystery-thriller film began on September 26, 2020, with the production reportedly wrapping on November 15, 2020. The film reportedly shot in the Dominican Republic. Old is the first film that Shyamalan has filmed in its entirety outside the Greater Philadelphia area. The cast includes Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Alex Wolff, Abbey Lee, and Aaron Pierre.
Image: IndieWire
The movie received its official announcement at this year’s Super Bowl. However, up until that time, the film had been shrouded in a cloak of secrecy—which nary a clue as to any information around it with only its cryptic title. Now though, we finally have an official synopsis as to what the film is about direct from Universal Studios.
“Old will follow a family on a tropical vacation who discover what appears to be the perfect getaway spot. Alas, as the holiday progresses, the family discovers that the secluded beach is somehow causing them to age rapidly, reducing their entire lives into one single day.”
As with all of M. Night’s works, there tend to be some themes of heavy existentialism—and this one appears to be no different. How M. Night tackles these themes will prove intriguing.
Old is slated for a nationwide release in theaters on July 23, 2021.