Review of Old (2021) by Compi24 — 24 Jul 2021

Welcome to part XII of "is M. Night Shyamalan in on the joke or is he being for real this time?".

Weirdness is most assuredly a part of M. Night Shyamalan's style. Even his best films can't seem to escape that one stray line or awkward beat that leaves the audience scratching their heads. At its worst, the weirdness can tank the film (i.e. "The Happening"), but ever since "The Visit," however, the above question has entered into the picture with considerable intensity. Is it something he can just turn on and off or is he really being genuine 100% of the time? I have half a mind to believe it's not even a question anymore with "Old." Even in "The Happening," yeah, the overall feel is off, but the ratio of awkwardness is much more subdued, feeling more like an honest-to-God attempt at something higher than it really is. Here, the wackiness is so off-the-wall and rapid fire that I gotta believe there's been a concerted effort to voluntarily mug at the camera, so to speak. In any event, the result is far from boring, wholeheartedly preposterous and an unmitigated brow-furrower. Please bubblewrap M. Night Shyamalan. We need to keep him safe so he can keep making silly **** like this until the end of time. If he does have a genuinely good movie in there somewhere, though, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to see that too. Here's hoping he doesn't think this is one of those.