For anybody hoping that M. Night Shyamalan (“Signs”, “The Sixth Sense”) had learned how to consistently make good films, get ready for a return to his usual silly shtick with “Old”. Like “Lady In The Water” or “The Village”, Shyamalan once again descends into complete and utter goofiness.

A family travels to a luxurious holiday resort. A staff member directs them to a secluded beach for the hotel’s preferred customers. Things initially seem perfect with the hot weather and beautiful sea but things take a terrifying turn. Along with a handful of others, the family members soon find themselves rapidly ageing. Can they escape the beach before they die? Also, who or what is behind this sinister situation?

Shyamalan films are often noteworthy for their ridiculous performances and “Old” is definitely no exception. Some of the performances here are just terrible. While some of the cast members such as Thomasin McKenzie (“Last Night In Soho”, “Jojo Rabbit”) get away relatively unscathed, some really do embarrass themselves. Ken Leung (“Rush Hour”) gives arguably the most awkward performance. The most entertainingly bad performance comes from Rufus Sewell (“Dark City”). Shyamalan himself has a cameo as usual. A lot of the dialog is really awkward throughout with the most interesting part being a conversation about an obscure film with both Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando.

“Old” has some interesting ideas that may have worked well in something such as an episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Unfortunately, Shyamalan embraces the silliness at every turn. Some of the special effects are also hilariously bad. I won’t spoil it but near the end, one character gets rather mangled and it looks so funny. If you love Shyamalan’s other work then you may enjoy “Old” but for most people, this is just another goofy film from a director that really needs to learn to control himself. I admire Shyamalan’s passion but it is so often very misguided.