History Film / Old

** The main family at least seems to mature as rapidly as they age. While everyone else dies from panic-induced behavior, sanity slippage, or medical complications, [[spoiler:Guy and Prisca come to realize how pointless the source of their marital issues were, not even remembering what they were in the first place [[ScatterbrainedSenior (possibly because of dementia)]] and make peace before death. By the next day, Trent and Maddox (now in their fifties) have also made peace with their situation even though they were 6 and 11 respectively only a day ago. Even when they make their attempt to escape, they remain calm all the way to the end of the film. When all is said and done, Trent is more concerned with how his aunt feels about her niece and nephew being older than her than his ordeal.]]

* ImpassableWaistHighFence: while not strictly "waist high", the manner in which the beach is surrounded by obstacles and blackouts when trying to leave by any but the intended route is reminiscent of a computer game.

The film stars Creator/GaelGarciaBernal and Vicky Krieps, with Creator/RufusSewell, Creator/KenLeung, Creator/NikkiAmukaBird, Abbey Lee, Aaron Pierre, Creator/AlexWolff, Nolan River, Creator/EmbethDavidtz, Creator/ElizaScanlen, Emun Elliott, Creator/KathleenChalfant and Creator/ThomasinMcKenzie in supporting roles. It was released on July 23, 2021, with shooting occurring over three months during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic in the Dominican Republic, making it Shyamalan's first film to be shot outside of Greater UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} since his debut film, ''Praying with Anger''.

The film stars Creator/GaelGarciaBernal and Vicky Krieps, with Creator/RufusSewell, Creator/KenLeung, Creator/NikkiAmukaBird, Abbey Lee, Aaron Pierre, Creator/AlexWolff, Nolan River, Creator/EmbethDavidtz, Creator/ElizaScanlen, Emun Elliott, Creator/KathleenChalfant and Creator/ThomasinMcKenzie in supporting roles. It was released on July 23, 2021, with shooting occurring over shot three months during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic in the Dominican Republic, making it Shyamalan's first film to be shot outside of Greater UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} since his debut film, ''Praying with Anger''.

* CompositeCharacter: Trent seems to be a combination of Louis and Felix from the graphic novel. Also, in a way, Crystal could be a combination of both Marianne (Zoe, Kara in the movie, mother) and Nathalie (Charle's wife).

* {{Sociopath}}: [[spoiler: A moment of silence is a very hollow gesture for a group of people who are willing to send 10 people to an excruciating and horrifying death. Particularly since they were only actually studying three of them. In other words they sent seven people to be collateral damage in a dubious experiment at best. Special mention goes to the van driver played by M Night Shyamalan who doesn’t even seem slightly phased that he’s sending three children to a horrific death and Casually watches from a Cliffside.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: Sometimes regarded as this to Shyamalan's ''Film/TheHappening'', with a similar "unexplained natural phenomena kills people" premise, a focus on a central family group attempting to escape said phenomena alongside groups of colorful [[spoiler:and expendable]] strangers, [[spoiler:ScienceIsBad]] themes and some {{Narm}}-y dialogue that wouldn't feel out of place in ''The Happening''. Arguably the biggest difference is that ''Old'' is PG-13 while ''Happening'' was famously marketed as being R-rated.

** However, Maddox and Trent discover a notebook left over by a science fiction writer who was previously on the beach, and he theorised that the rocks facing the beach were submerged beneath the ocean for millions of years, almost at the point of reaching the magnetism of Earth, carrying strange minerals that cause physical cells to age at an abnormally rapid pace.

** However, Maddox and Trent discover a notebook left over by a science fiction writer who was previously on the beach, and he theorised that the rocks facing the beach were submerged beneath the ocean for millions of years, almost at the point of reaching the magnetism of Earth, carrying strange minerals that cause physical cells to age at a very rapid pace.

* TheUnreveal: While the twist explains why the characters are on the beach, the conspirators have absolutely no idea why or how the beach does what it does. To them it is an unexplainable phenomenon that they decided to make use of. ** However, Maddox and Trent discover a notebook left over by a science fiction writer who was previously on the beach, and he theorised that the rocks facing the beach were submerged beneath the ocean for millions of years, carrying strange minerals that cause physical cells to age at a very rapid pace.

* TheUnreveal: While the twist explains why the characters are on the beach, the conspirators have absolutely no idea why or how the beach does what it does. To them it is an unexplainable phenomenon that they decided to make use of.

The film stars Creator/GaelGarciaBernal and Vicky Krieps, with Creator/RufusSewell, Creator/KenLeung, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abbey Lee, Aaron Pierre, Creator/AlexWolff, Nolan River, Creator/EmbethDavidtz, Creator/ElizaScanlen, Emun Elliott, Creator/KathleenChalfant and Creator/ThomasinMcKenzie in supporting roles. It was released on July 23, 2021, with shooting occurring over shot three months during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic in the Dominican Republic, making it Shyamalan's first film to be shot outside of Greater UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} since his debut film, ''Praying with Anger''.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"There's something wrong with this beach!"'']]

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:In the original graphic novel, [[KillEmAll no one on the beach survives]] the unexplained RapidAging. In the film, siblings Trent and Maddox manage to escape.]]

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:Subverted, as everyone who visits the beach dies except for Trent and Maddox, who were presumed to have drowned and are only revealed to be alive at the very end of the film.]]

** Charles grows in paranoia and becomes more erratic in movement while on the beach, lashing out with a pocket knife for seemingly no reason. [[spoiler:This alludes to him having a mental illness, specifically schizophrenia]].
** When you put the pieces of the puzzle together, [[spoiler:you realize that all the couples and families have one thing in common: they each have at least one member that suffers from an illness of some sort. It gives you the idea that the guests aren't picked out of luck, but are selected for something more sinister]].

* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The children gain maturity as they age, even though they hardly have time to learn those behaviors.

* OlderAndWiser:
** The main family at least seems to mature as rapidly as they age. While everyone else dies from panic-induced behavior, sanity slippage, or medical complications, [[spoiler:Guy and Prisca come to realize how pointless the source of their marital issues were, not even remembering what they were in the first place, and make peace before death. By the next day, Trent and Maddox (now in their fifties) have also made peace with their situation even though they were 6 and 11 only a day ago. Even when they make their attempt to escape, they remain calm all the way to the end of the film. When all is said and done, Trent is more concerned with how his aunt feels about her niece and nephew being older than her than his ordeal.]]
** [[spoiler:Kara also shows some maturity when she tries to leave by scaling the rocks. Her main reason being that she wants to get her dad out of there because he has become too dangerous. This isn’t something a six year old would be thinking.]]

* SanitySlippage: As time wears on, Charles gradually loses his grip on sanity and degenerates into incoherent ramblings[[spoiler: and violence. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since he is later revealed to have schizophrenia that rapidly advances due to the beach's influence.]]

* CreatorCameo: Shyamalan plays a hotel employee who drives everyone to the beach.

* When the trailer shows the comparison between Trent played by Alex Wolff and Trent played by Nolan River, the shot of Trent played by Nolan River is from a scene where they’re at the beach that they went to before the one that makes them age rapidly, but the trailer makes it look like he’s on the beach that causes rapid aging.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"There's something wrong with this beach!"'']][[note]]This line does not actually appear in the movie.[[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"There's something wrong with this beach!"'']]

** Trent forms a bond with a kid named Idlib, while Maddox tries to comfort him as their parents fight in their hotel room. [[spoiler:He hits puberty in a matter of hours, impregnates the girl he comes to love by accident, and has a breakdown when their baby dies after a few minutes of crying. Then his parents die in front of him and his sister, and all they can do is try to find any clue that would get him and Maddox off the island. While he says he's more worried about how his aunt will react, he reveals to the new guests that he lost his parents and Kara by manipulation]].

* InsaneEqualsViolent: Charles has a mysterious mental illness which may be schizophrenia. Even when his condition is less severe, he quickly begins threatening Mid-Sized Sedan with a knife, and quickly escalates into trying to kill him and then everyone else on the island.

** Also, one of the trailers begins with Guy reading a brochure that says "No kids on the beach." This implies that Guy and Prisca broke the rules by bringing their kids to the cursed beach, unintentionally putting them in danger. [[spoiler:It turns out the brochure is referring to the resort's beaches, and that requirement was probably put in as an incentive to get "trial groups" to accept the invitation to go to the private beach. The loaded containers of food show that they knew what would happen to the kids on the beach.]]

* AdultFear:
** Prisca reveals to Maddox that [[spoiler:when she found out about the tumor, and it was benign she freaked out and started an affair. It turns out that Guy was deciding whether or not they should divorce, and the trip was their last hurrah]].
** Charles has [[spoiler:untreated schizophrenia, and he fears that getting any treatment will out him and discredit his career as a cardiac surgeon and chief of medicine. Then his daughter rapidly gets pregnant and gives birth to a dead child, while Chrystal is screaming for him to help]].

** Robert is now Charles. He's married to Marianne (Chrystal) and he's Zoe (Kara) and Felix's father.

** Robert is now Guy. He's married to Marianne (Chrystal) and he's Zoe (Kara) and Felix's father.

** Prisca is Nathalie, she's Charles wife and the grandmother (Agnes) daughter.