M. Night Shyamalan takes us on a thrill ride with his latest horror film. A group of people trapped on a secluded beach. Soon they realize that if they can’t find a way out, everyone will be dead by tomorrow.

A film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, based on graphic novel Château de sable by French film director/writer Pierre Oscar Lévy and Swiss graphic novelist Frederik Peeters, first published in France in 2010 and later available in English in 2011 as Sandcastle.

Guy (Gael García Bernal), his wife Prisca (Vicky Krieps), their 11-year-old daughter Maddox (Alexa Swinton), and 6-year-old son Trent (Nolan River) travel to Anamika resort which Prisca found it online. Guy works as an actuary for an insurance company, Prisca is a museum curator, their marriage is falling apart and they has decided to a get a divorce. This trip is a final family vacation which they agree to take before telling their children about their separation. Guy learns that this resort is affiliated with pharmaceutical company Warren & Warren.

Trent befriends with Idlib (Kailen Jude), nephew of the resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten). They roam the beach together introducing themselves and asking other people’s names and occupations. At the end of the day, Idlib gives Trent a letter written in symbols and the instruction how to decipher it.

On the next morning, the resort manager approaches the family offering an opportunity to visit a private beach on the nature preserve side of the island. Prisca is interested, believing that it will be a great memory for the family. The resort manager arranges the van to take them to the secret beach. Idlib secretly put another letter in Trent’s backpack. But before Trent can decipher the letter, he is interrupted by another family entering the van; surgeon Charles (Rufus Sewell), his mother Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant), his wife Chrystal (abbey-lee), and their 6-year-old daughter Kara (Kylie Begley).

Maddox notices her favorite rapper Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre) is sitting alone on the beach and wants to greet him, but Guy thinks it’s not appropriate and doesn’t allow Maddox to disturb him. Trent discovers a body of a woman near the beach. Famous rapper reveals that she came alonng with him but claims that she went swimming on her own.

They try to make a call, but there is no cellphone reception at all. Nurse Jarin (Ken Leung) and psychologist Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird), another couple from the resort arrives late at the beach and learns about the dead body. Jarin decides to go back to the entrance hoping that he can call for help from the resort. But he blacks out and then awakens on the beach.

Agnes suddenly stops breathing and dies. Their children grow rapidly within hours. There’s something wrong with the time on this beach. Soon they realize that if they can’t find a way to leave this place, everyone will be dead by tomorrow.

M. Night Shyamalan takes us on a thrill ride with his latest sleek horror film. I already read the original material, it’s more like an episode you would find on THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Gael García Bernal and Vicky Krieps give good performances as a struggling couple. The best character is a surgeon with paranoid schizophrenia portrayed by Rufus Sewell. Eventhough the dialogue is quite weak and not much memorable or meaningful, the concept is terrifying enough to keep me on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen in the next couple minutes. The framing technique used to conceal actors when they seamlessly switch to another with older age is very impressive.

The final twist at the end which breaks the film from the original graphic novel, explaining everything isn’t what I expect to find as it’s just too generic and leaves no room for imagination or interpretation.

OLD premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC on 19 July 2021, and was theatrically released in the U.S. on 23 July. As of September 21, OLD has grossed a total of $89.5 million worldwide with a budget of $18 million. The film is scheduled to release on VOD in the U.S. on 5 October, and on Blu-ray on 19 October.