“Old” is a new horror film written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan inspired by a Swiss graphic novel.
Let’s find out some trivia and facts about the new film.
- Old is a 2021 American horror thriller film
- The film is written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan
- It is inspired by the Swiss graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters
- The film’s ensemble cast includes Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Alex Wolff, Abbey Lee, Aaron Pierre, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Embeth Davidtz, Emun Elliott, and Kathleen Chalfant
- The film follows a group of people who find themselves aging rapidly on a secluded beach they cannot escape from
- The film was announced in October 2019 after Shyamalan read the graphic novel by Levy and Peeters
- The cast joined the following summer
- With filming taking place from September to November in the Dominican Republic
- It marked the first film of Shyamalan’s career to have no shooting take place around his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Following a delay attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, Old was theatrically released on July 23, 2021, in the United States, by Universal Pictures
- The film has received mixed reviews from critics
- Critics praised the film’s premise and cinematography
- They criticized its screenplay and uneven execution
- It was announced in October 2019 that Shyamalan was partnering with Universal Studios to release two new thriller films which he would write, produce and direct
- After Shyamalan read the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters, a gift his daughter gave him for Father’s Day
- He decided he wanted to adapt the graphic novel into a film and optioned the rights for the story
- In May 2020, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff and Vicky Krieps entered negotiations to join the cast
- Their castings would be confirmed the next month, along with Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Ken Leung added to the cast
- Gael García Bernal would join in July
- In August 2020, Rufus Sewell, Embeth Davidtz and Emun Elliott joined the cast of the film
- Alexa Swinton joined the cast shooting in September 2020
- In December 2020, Nolan River joined the cast of the film
- Principal photography officially began on September 26, 2020, in the Dominican Republic along with the announcement of the film’s title
- This marks the first time Shyamalan has filmed entirely outside Greater Philadelphia
- Production concluded on November 15, 2020
- On June 18, 2021, at the New York Tribeca talks, in a conversation with Alex Wolff, Shyamalan described the movie as a ‘Bergman blockbuster’
- The film was released on July 23, 2021
- It was initially set for release on February 26 that same year, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- It was released on July 21, 2021, in France, Belgium and Switzerland
- In the United States and Canada, Old was released alongside Snake Eyes and Joe Bell
- It is projected to gross between $12 and 15 million from 3,355 theaters in its opening weekend
- The film made $6.9 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews
- On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52%
- Based on 188 reviews
- With an average rating of 5.6/10
- The site’s critics consensus reads, “Old has no shortage of interesting ideas — and writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s uneven execution will intrigue or annoy viewers, with little middle ground between”
- According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 53 out of 100
- Based on 45 critics
- The film received “mixed or average reviews”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “C+” on an A+ to F scale
- While PostTrak reported 61% of audience members gave it a positive score
- With 37% saying they would definitely recommend it
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