The Old Ways

"The Old Ways" is, in many ways, your run of the mill horror flick. In other ways, however, it manages to pull its own weight and elevate itself beyond what you would typically expect from a film in this genre. For better or for worse, there is ultimately not enough fresh and unique ideas at play here for me to recommend this, but at the same time this movie wasn't nearly bad enough for me to tell you to skip it. At the end of the day, "The Old Ways" simply is.

This is an exorcism movie, and if you enjoy those types of movies, chances are you'll find at least something to like here. It has the type of content that you'd expect from an exorcism film; however, where "The Old Ways" differentiates itself is through its use of hispanic superstition. Foregoing the typical priest, this movie employs a Bruja, or a witch doctor, to cast the demon out of the body it is inhabiting. And admittedly, this means that there is some cool imagery at play, especially with the traditional rituals that the Bruja uses. I myself come from a superstitious Spanish family, so I appreciated this latino twist.

That said, besides the fact that the film aims for a slightly more creative way to exorcise the demon(s), there isn't much else that's new here; from the characters to the plot, you've seen it all done before. This wasn't a horrible movie - I didn't hate it by any means, and I actually enjoyed the different take on a tired genre, as well as some of the imagery. I did enjoy the soundtrack, and the film looked good; the writing, too, was pretty good for what it was, besides a few cheesy one-liners here and there that I only imagine were utilized to add some levity.

Besides what I mentioned above, however, nothing else managed to leave any sort of lasting impression on me. If you're a horror fanatic you could certainly do a lot worse than "The Old Ways," but you could also do a whole lot better.

Cristina Lopez is an American reporter who has travelled her ancestral town near the city of Veracruz in Mexico. Here she hopes to write a story about the local folklore. After going to a cave she was told to avoid she is held in a small hut. Here she is told that she now has a demon inside her and that getting it out will be difficult, dangerous and painful. A local bruja, or witch, leads the exorcism with the help of a man named Javi and Cristina's cousin Miranda.

I thought this was a really solid little horror film. It starts well without wasting time on the set up; what we need to know we learn later. This means the viewer's confusion mirrors Cristina's as we see her in captivity with a sack over her hear. The location gives a good sense of claustrophobia and the scenes of the exorcism are suitably disturbing and quite gory. All the time there is a sense that Cristina is in real danger in a situation she has difficulty comprehending. Having the exorcism based in native Mexican beliefs made a refreshing change from Catholicism; and removes obvious comparisons to a certain film made in 1973! The small cast does an impressive job; most obviously Brigitte Kali Canales as Cristina and Julia Vera as Luz as the Bruja. The special effects are pretty good. Overall I enjoyed this more than I expected it and would recommend it... as it is only ninety minutes long you won't waste too much time if you don't enjoy it.

I enjoyed this movie. I liked the characters and the setting. It doesn't have the most original story, but they made the most of what they had. It was definitely worth the watch. As far as how well I remember it, it didn't leave a burning impression on me, but I think it is above average on every level.

I throughly enjoyed this movie. Great acting. I liked all the main characters. The atmosphere was perfect for the storyline. Old fashion exorcisms, Mexico and a bruja. About time something a little different came along.

Well, I hadn't actually heard about this 2020 movie titled "The Old Ways" before now in 2021, as I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it.

And I will say that writer Marcos Gabrie definitely managed to come up with an original idea. And it definitely was one that quickly had my attention span. However, I will say that writer Marcos Gabrie sort of takes you all over the place throughout the course of the movie. Just as you think you've figured out what is going on, then the storyline changes direction. So it makes for a very non-linear storyline.

Director Christopher Alender did a good job at bringing the story to life on the screen.

However, I must say that while "The Old Ways" certainly is a watchable movie, it was not a movie that had me all worked up. Nor does it prove to be a movie that has the contents to support more than a single viewing.

I feel that the storyline was just a bit too chaotic and random to be wholeheartedly entertaining for my personal preference. But sure, the movie was watchable and enjoyable enough for what it turned out to be.

The acting in the movie was adequate. And I can't claim to be familiar with the cast ensemble that they had managed to get together for "The Old Ways", aside from actor Sal Lopez. And that is certainly something that I enjoy in movies. I will say that Brigitte Kali Canales (playing Cristina), Andrea Cortés (playing Miranda), Julia Vera (playing Luz) and Sal Lopez (playing Javi) definitely put on good performances and carried the movie well.

Visually then "The Old Ways" was adequate. This was not a movie that was heavily reliant on an abundance of special effects and CGI. But whatever special effects and CGI were in the movie was good and served its purpose well.

A shame that the movie's storyline was so chaotic, because it could otherwise have been a more enjoyable and wholesome movie.

My rating of "The Old Ways" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars. The potential was there, just a shame it wasn't utilized.