Old Man

I've been a fan of Stephen Lang ever since I watched his performance in Manhunter(1986) directed by the acclaimed director Michael Mann. A quote from that film: "Well, here I am..."

If ever there was an A-grade actor handled badly by Hollywood it's Stephen Lang. After Red Dragon he disappeared into obscurity. He should've used that film as a push into successful mainstream Hollywood movies of that era. However he had very meager successes. I would advise you to watch Escape: Human Cargo where he starred opposite Treat Williams another favorite actor of mine.

Back to the film: it is about an old man in a secluded cabin at the back ends of the world. He is struggling with guilt and fading memories of his past. He's interrupted by a knocking at the door and lets in a lost visitor. Soon the two fall into conversation. You'll have to sit through this one till the end to find out what happens next...

Overall Stephen Lang's fantastic acting saves this movie as its only grace. The photography and sound effects are more than adequate for a movie of this sort. Edward Lucky McKee is an exemplary film director and I'm sure the next projects of his will be very good.

Verdict: a very good and worthwhile one time viewing. You may also like these movies: Misery(1990), The Nature Of The Beast(1995) and Ravenous(1999).

P. S. First to review this movie! Cheers and thanks for reading this review!

No pun intended - if you like or even love Stephen Lang ... well I do not need to convince you. If not, this may be able to convince you to to love him - his performance is everything! Yes there is the script (with a twist or two on your way or rather the movies way) ... but it is how he delivers whatever they give him.

That said, we do realize something is off from the get go. But what is it? Maybe you will surprised, maybe you can guess way before I did, where it goes with it. Maybe the new character late in the game will throw you off, maybe it won't ... there is a lot of factors that have to work for you, to like the movie. One is the pace - the other your patience with the performance - which is excellent of course, but might not be something that floats your boat ... just saying.

Single-setting thrillers are kind of my jam. They're cheap to make and often end up being some of the most entertaining movies because they demand a strong script to carry them. 'Old Man' didn't quite work for me sadly. There was an idea here that could've been pulled off if executed differently.

The main problem stems from the characters. There are only really two of them of note in the film. One is characterless because of the way he is set up. He adds some mystery to the proceedings but otherwise he is just clueless and going along for the ride. The other character is a crazy old man who rambles on about nothing for minutes on end. Those two don't equal a particularly enjoyable 97 minutes of viewing.

The thing the film has going for it is the intrigue over what exactly is going on. There were a few routes the film could've gone down at the end, so if anyone is saying this one is predictable I would take umbrage with that. Unfortunately though the whole experience is very forgettable and not one I'd recommend. 5.5/10.

This gives the term "blow burner" a new meaning. I can absolutely understand if the average moviegoer won't appreciate Old Man, but I enjoyed it. It's just a handful of actors, with Stephen Lang as the main character, who plays an old, partially drunk man who lives alone in the woods. The visitor is a young and a little too polite man who is rather creepy. There is a twist at the end that I didn't really appreciate, but all in all this is an intense low budget thriller and Stephen Lang is great as always. The film is reminiscent of Don't Breathe where Lang plays kind of the same character as in this one. But don't waste your time. This is definitely not a movie for everyone. But if you like some weird and mysterious psychological thrillers/dramas, this is a good pick.

This movie starts promising: An interesting setting and enigmatic characters let you hope for a 90 min play full of twisted dialogues and psychologically complex interaction, maybe warfare even. In a few moments, it skillfully achieves to build up an atmosphere of subtle, lovecraftian horror -- but only to tear it down a few seconds later with meaningless, down-to-earth dialogues. In general, this movie looses momentum very fast and makes you wish it would only run 30 min tops. It boils down to its ending and so it would have been a perfect fit for "Alfred Hitchcock presents". I recommend this for fans of Stephen Lang and die hard mystery movie lovers only.