The Elderly – Movie Review [Fantastic Fest] (3/5)

THE ELDERLY is a new Spanish horror movie (org. title Viejos) that will be sure to leave an impression on all viewers. Screened for our Fantastic Fest 2022 coverage, now we can’t wait for everyone to watch it. Read our full The Elderly movie review here!

THE ELDERLY is a Spanish horror movie (org. title Viejos) with a runtime of 1 hour of 35 minutes, so you can expect a tight story. Sure, it’s slow-burn at first, as we get to know the characters. However, I can assure you that the final minutes are all kinds of craziness.

Actually, the crazy part starts way earlier, but the ending of The Elderly is just very intense. The story takes place during a crazy heatwave in Madrid, but it’s obvious that the senior citizens are affected by more than just the heat.

Continue reading our The Elderly movie review below.

This is The Visit but much more intense!

The Elderly definitely offers some awesome roles for older actors, who give terrifying performances. Whenever you watch a movie like this one, you wonder why this isn’t utilized even more. Not just having a creepy old man or woman, like a character in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but something much deeper.

Think The Taking of Debra Logan or Shyamalan’s The Visit. In fact, The Elderly is like watching The Visit on a much larger scale where the horror enters into sci-fi as well.

You cannot forget certain moments from this movie. And no, I’m not talking about the nudity or more explicit scenes. Hey, more power to still having urges very late in life. Then again, I’m from Europe (as is the movie), so maybe that’s why seeing naked bodies isn’t a big deal.

For me, the emotional damage of seeing a nice grandpa (well, mostly nice) behaving in increasingly irrational ways, is what hits harder. Or rather, the fact that all the older people all over Madrid suddenly start staring at you and acting in strange ways.

From sweet old man to killing machine

Okay, “killing machine” is going a bit far, perhaps. However, it isn’t entirely wrong since all the older people in this movie are becoming very aggressive as the story progresses. At times, it feels like you’re watching something straight out of [REC].

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the fact that the apartment buildings look similar to the one from that movie. From the opening scene, we witness the first death, and, trust me, this is just the beginning.

Having just watched Smile as well, The Elderly is almost like watching The Visit mixed with Smile and then just going absolutely nuts.

Yeah, I’m saying I liked it.

Also, I was so happy to see Zorion Eguileor again. He was brilliant in the horror movie The Platform (org. title El hoyo), which I cannot recommend enough. Even if it is at least as uncomfortable to watch as The Elderly.

I always just end up saying “Obvio!” when I see him in something now, because this was his catchphrase in The Platform. In fact, he became a meme with the whole “Obvio”-thing.

In this new movie, Zorion Eguileor plays the lead role and gives yet another amazing performance. That man was made for horror movies and I hope he continues making these films for many years to come.

The Elderly screened during Fantastic Fest 2022

This is the second feature film by filmmaker duo Raúl Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez. They also directed the film festival hit The Passenger, which offered crazy moments as well. Still, this one goes quite a few steps further – in good ways, if you’re a horror fan!

There are scenes in The Elderly (org. title Viejos) that will be sure to shock many viewers. However, when you think about it, most of it isn’t nearly as bad as what other horror movies have shown over the years. It’s just that in this movie, it’s happening to (and being done by) elderly people.

That’s the kind of thing that shocks just as much as seeing kids behave in sinister or crazy ways. You’ll want to watch this one – even if it has many moments you’ll wish unseen afterward!

We watched The Elderly during coverage of Fantastic Fest 2022. It will be out in US theaters on October 13, 2023, and on VOD & Blu-ray from October 31, 2023.

Details

Directors: Raúl Cerezo & Fernando González Gómez
Writers: Raúl Cerezo, Rubén Sánchez Trigos, Javier Trigales
Stars: Gustavo Salmerón, Irene Anula, Paula Gallego, Zorion Eguileor, Juan Acedo