Cool concept but terrible, terrible writing.
None of the characters behaves in a believable way, it all feels staged (you know those lines that just happen in movies but just don't feel right in real life? Like "there's no time to explain, just follow me" or "we've got company"), even at the beginning at the resort, before the supernatural part kicks in, like a series of scenes almost unrelated one to the other and patched together, each with the precise purpose to stimulate a feeling in the audience or to get the plot ahead. Characters falling as flies like in predictable horror movies.

Some unexplicable sloppy screenplay moments:

- "I'm a nurse. My name is Jarin"
- (after the seizure) "I ruined everyone's breakfast"
- "Everyone needs to have a voice here. [...] We will make destructive decisions if we don't feel safe with each other" (The whole group psychology session on the beach, really).
- "Guy, I feel better!" (after having her tumor removed)
- (baby dies): "maybe we should all talk about what just happened"
- "I stare at the remains of nameless people in glass cases, and I kept thinking I'm going to be one of those people"
- (holding those pool rubber buoy worms) "I'm using these to swim out. I have a sister, she's a therapist too. I need to get to my sister, we never talk, we had a fight a long time ago. **She's older, but now I am** ."
- (why do you keep lighting the matches on?! And just the whole scene)
- (Rust that acts like poison into the blood stream?)

The ending was the best and more naturally progressing part of the movie

I liked Old not for its horror elements (at least the very little that it has) but for its themes about aging and regrets in life, something that hit home. There may be several flaws with this weird drama but the central theme of how we take life lightly when we are aging slowly really stayed with me. Recommended.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/old-spoiler-free-review

"Old is one of those cases of a remarkably unique, intriguing concept failing to reach its potential due to an overall disappointing execution of too many ideas. M. Night Shyamalan delivers yet another divisive film, tackling deeper themes associated with our relationship with time and how the latter impacts people in distinct ways. The trademark final act revelation not only negatively affects the main theme of the movie but also raises dozens of plot and character inconsistencies, too many to handle. The acting is surprisingly as poor as some of the awful dialogues, despite great casting concerning the kid-to-adult transitions. The main family's arc is one worth investing in, but there are too many disposable, irrelevant characters. The technically accurate, detailed cinematography might not be pleasant for every viewer, but the editing definitely lacks some finesse. Unfortunately, I can't defend Shyamalan too much on this one..."

Rating: C-

Old is a very unique and interesting idea as a film. That is about the only positive thing I can say about it. The entire movie feels jumbled together, the pacing moves incredibly fast and choppy at some points, jumping from one small event to another. As a viewer you never get to sit in atmosphere of what has just occurred because it rips you away into another event. The writing in this film is simply not good. There is a ton of cheesy dialogue and character reactions that just do not make sense. I originally thought that the acting was just bad, but I think it has more to do with the material they are trying to work with. The cheesy lines can be fine if that was the style of film they were trying to make, but with the very serious and melodramatic tone it just comes off as awkward. There is a very weird and kind of off-putting direction that the story goes relating to the children that just made me uncomfortable as well. It is sad that this film had so much potential, and trailers really sell that potential, but what we were delivered was far from a quality film.

**Verdict:** _Bad_

There is a low-rent movie review site we all know that I go to when I am deciding whether to watch a movie or program. I don’t go there because it is full of great reviews and accurate ratings, but rather because sometimes I find it is more revealing why a production gets poor reviews that what the actual ratings are.

There were a lot of negative reviews of Old, but not for the most common reasons, such as racism, or political hatred of multi-culturalism. No it appears a lot of the negativity is aimed the director Shyamalen because this is not The Sixth Sense.

I thought the movie was okay, especially since I am not a horror fan at all. It isn’t great, but interesting enough to make it worth my time. I didn’t see the gaping plot holes or inconsistencies that reviewers mentioned but never got specific about. I didn’t feel the acting was bad. I mean, who knows how we would look and sound if life itself stopped making sense to us? If what happens to these people happened to me, I hope I could be forgiven for looking shell-shocked, acting lost, or staring uncomprehendingly at people around me. Seems like a perfectly reasonable reaction to me. We are jaded by the horror and suspense movies we watch, but would we make sense as people if we were living in one?

Anyway, not a great film, but worth a peek if you take it at face value.