The king of thriller films, M. Night Shyamalan, is back at it again with his new film, Old. Known for his supernatural plots and twisted endings, Old’s storyline full of twists and turns is no different from some of the director’s other classics such as The Sixth Sense and Lady in the Water.

HOLA! USA was invited to attend the red, or shall we say sand colored, carpet for the film’s world premiere at the Jazz at Lincoln Center to chat with the cast about this highly anticipated film. Attending a movie premiere after a long year and a half felt exciting and the electric energy in the room exemplified that.

WATCH! Behind the Scenes at the Premiere

Old has an all-star cast which includes Gael García Bernal, from Mozart in the Jungle, Vicky Krieps from The Girl in the Spider’s Web, and Rufus Sewell from A Knight’s Tale, to name a few. A few days before the film hit theaters, Bernal and the rest of the cast made their way down the carpet in New York City happily chatting to the press about the new film while posing for pictures.

Everyone, including Shyamalan, was shocked yet relieved that a premiere was able to happen during these times. The cast and crew were happy to see one another as they hugged and complimented each other on their premiere looks.

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After about an hour of interviews, everyone made their way into the screening room to listen to a speech given by Shyamalan. The award-winning director took the stage to express his gratitude to the cast, crew, and his family. He told about his experience and how thankful he was for the opportunity to create this movie in the Dominican Republic during the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown. After a roaring applause from the audience, the lights went down, and the thriller movie began.

The themes of Old include aging, family tension, and in a way, survival of the fittest. Bernal and Krieps are excellent as the central characters of the film, Guy and Prisca Capa. The actors play parents who are having issues in their marriage but figure a family vacation with their young children, Trent and Maddox, will help ease some of the tension.

The family’s vacation takes place at a stunning beach resort. The manager of the resort chats with the family one morning, offering to take them to a special beach. The family of four and a few others end up on the remote beach for a day of relaxation. As the storyline progresses, everything takes a turn for the worst as the beachgoers realize time passes much faster and everyone begins to age exponentially while there.

The film caused myself and other audience members to gasp at times, turn our heads from gory scenes, and even giggle at some of the story’s dark humor. In true Shyamalan fashion, as an audience member watching the movie, I was constantly wondering just when all of my questions were going to be answered. What is causing these people to age so fast? Is this an experiment? Who will survive?

That’s part of what makes Shyamalan’s films so genius - he keeps you guessing, wanting more, while shocking you at how the plot comes full circle at the last possible second. Old is worth a watch and might be considered one of the director’s best films to date.

Aside from the glitz and glam of the night, one of my favorite parts of the premiere was turning towards the audience to catch a glimpse of the actors watching themselves on the big screen. I noticed Shyamalan chatted with his wife here and there while watching the film and Sewell kept a poker face as he watched himself play a character who had some villain behavior in the film.

As the movie came to an end and the credits appeared on the screen, the audience loudly applauded, celebrating a great film and a night that gave everyone a sense of normalcy.