Just viewed "Viejos" (elderly) at Sitges Film Festival 2022 and my feelings on it are mixed.

With the plot they were given, the crew did everything they possibly could. The acting, lighting, camera, Sound and Music is great throughout the entire movie and there's clear Signs of creativity and innovation behind the scenes. The actors playing the grandfather as well as the daughter were definitely the best actors of the film, which is overall interesting as well as impressive.

Unfortunately, however, the writing is quite dull at times. There's a lot tension as well as jumpscares at times, and the film itself is very creepy. Yet it Seem to be creepy for the sake of being creepy at multiple occasions. It's not that it's a slow burn and that a bad thing, it's more that multiple scenes seem like plot devices when they really aren't which makes it all seem convoluted.

It saddens me to say, because tethered so many good ideas. The movie makes comments on how we treat the elderly, climate change and grief both literally and by the use of metaphors, but many unnecessary horror tropes and a ton of underwritten characters (everyone besides the daughter of the main family) really drags everything else down.

The film takes an unexpected turn near the third act, but I personally enjoyed it. The first act however, not so much. I do hope to see more from the directors in the future and hope they - along side the great cast and crew - get praise internationally

In brief: Everything about the film was inpressive and the atmosphere and messages were great. Plot drags it down for me. Due to the many great factors, I score it 7.5/10.

Directed by Fernando González Gómez and Raúl Cerezo, who wrote the script with Rubén Sánchez Trigos and Javier Trigales, The Elderly starts with an older woman falling off a balcony to her death and then deals with dementia, aging and the elderly telling their children that they plan on killing them.

Yeah. Get ready.

Manuel (Zorion Eguileor) is the grandfather who faces life without his wife of fifty years. His son Mario (Gustavo Salmerón) would rather his father stay with him than a home, no matter what his wife Lena (Irene Anula) wants. Meanwhile, his teenage daughter Naia (Paula Gallego) starts to see the spirit of her grandmother. It starts slow, but by the time things increase in tension and the temperate increases in Madrid, every old person could be a threat.

What is it with everyone doing the Ari Aster thing where old people get naked and we're supposed to be creeped out by it? Let me screw your head up. Your once supple skin and gorgeous looks will one day face aging and if you're turned off now, you'll be turned off then. Get over it. We are our souls, not this whole fiction suit we wear in this reality.

That said -- this movie is gorgeous and freaked me out with its ever rising tides of fascism and high temperatures. It hits a lot close to home, as my father is currently suffering from early dementia, at times thinking he is sixteen and wondering how he has a son so old.