Cristina Lopez (Brigitte Kali Canales), a Mexican/American reporter, returns to her ancestral home of Veracruz in search of a story on witchcraft and faith healers, only to be kidnapped by the locals.
Her captors are her cousin Miranda (Andrea Cortés), the “bruja” Luce (Julia Vera) and her son Javi (Sal Lopez). The reason for her abduction is both mind-boggling and terrifying: they believe she has a demon inside her, and they will not let her go until they exorcise the malevolent force.
When Cristina was young, the demon known as Postehki (the death god of broken things) killed her mother. And now it wants to take over her body. As a skeptic, she doesn't believe all this nonsense. But as she tries to find ways to flee, she begins to suspect that they might be telling the truth all along.
Netflix is slowly gearing up for the chilly ‘ber’ months by preparing a plethora of horror movies to dig into. Movies like the Korean pandemic-thriller “The Flu” and the Hong Kong-Singaporean horror film “The Eye” already entered the platform and there are more to come.
One of its latest offerings is a paranormal-witchcraft horror story that combines lore and tradition into one -- "The Old Ways"
“The Old Ways” wasted no time in establishing itself as a unique horror flick. It opens right in the gist of the story forgoing Cristina’s personal history to create a sense of mystery. Even though the lack of backstories is risky as it can derail the film's theme and even create a disconnection between the audience and the characters; Alender manages to keep everything on screen interesting through careful pacing and editing.
Moreover, Christopher Alender’s horror movie belongs to a small group of films that we're able to strike a healthy balance of horror and story while maintaining a fascinating look and commentary on cultural disconnection.
"The Old Ways" story is open for interpretation. Cristina first appeared to be another entitled American determined to get what she wants. So, even though she was barred from entering La Boca (the lair of Postehki), she did so anyway. But she soon realize that her ignorance of the local’s traditions, and cultures have disastrous consequences.
The premise then evolves into a commentary on depression, with Cristina openly admitting that she feels empty inside and she wants to end her life. Alender understands that he is now navigating a darker territory, so he maintains a positive and assuring response by giving the audience a solid heart-to-heart talk between Cristina and Miranda on loneliness and family.
However, this shift of focus happens around the 50 minutes mark of the film. For a movie that has a run time of 90 minutes, that shift is way overdue to hit a mark. Which is a shame because it opens up possibilities and dimensions for the characters and the story.
Anyway, “The Old Ways” have only very minor flaws (like the visuals) but, essentially, Alender’s film is well-made and well-acted. It is a nice horror film overall.
3/5
"The Old Ways" is available on Netflix.