Star Vicky Kreips told RadioTimes.com that the “beach was like the other character” in the film – here’s everything you need to know about the real-life location.
Helmed by veteran filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, ‘Old’ is a supernatural thriller film set on a lush private beach where a family on vacation soon discovers that they are all aging rapidly. The supernatural beach that they find themselves on somehow reduces their lives to a single day, making the film rife with philosophical dread. It takes inspiration from Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters’ graphic novel titled ‘Sandcastle.’
It stars Rufus Sewell, Thomasin McKenzie, Embeth Davidtz, Eliza Scanlen, Abbey Lee, Alex Wolff, and Gael García Bernal. It was released on July 23, 2021, by Universal Pictures.
Known for his offbeat horror, M. Night and the crew spent a significant amount of time looking for the perfect locations for this film to match the director’s vision. The film also marks the first time the filmmaker did not shoot a single scene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his hometown.
Where was Old Filmed? Old’ was filmed extensively in Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios, Playa El Valle y Samaná. The Caribbean region is world-renowned for its spectacular coastlines and is where the film crew finally found the perfect locations to shoot the film. Apart from hurricanes that occasionally crop up in the region, the production team faced complications due to the Covid-19 pandemic that required stringent health guidelines to be adhered to. Principal photography began on September 26, 2020 and wrapped up by November 15, 2020.
El Valle beach itself is on the Atlantic Ocean coast and is flanked by lush mountains on either side. The natural beauty of the beach makes its supernatural aspects more sinister.
Production was a complicated affair, and M. Night called it a logistical nightmare made all the more daunting as filming occurred during hurricane season in the Caribbean. Combined with the fact that not just natural lighting but also the tides and water-level on the beach had to be considered, the crew was filming scenes from the beginning of the script in the mornings and the end of the script at night every day.
In a behind-the-scenes video clip shared on the film’s official Twitter handle, the director described the building of a massive wall that was to be used for filming. Soon after being built, it was severely damaged by a hurricane. However, it seems like all the effort was worthwhile as the Playa El Valle beach sat well with M. Night’s vision for the film’s main setting.
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