The Old Ways (2021)
Story overview
The Old Ways is a 2021 horror-fantasy film directed by Christopher Alender. It follows Cristina, a journalist of Mexican heritage who returns to her ancestral home in Veracruz to investigate local stories of sorcery and healing. Upon arrival, she is captured by villagers who believe she is possessed by a demonic entity. The film explores themes of cultural identity, ancestral trauma, and supernatural beliefs through a tense, atmospheric narrative that blends psychological horror with folkloric elements.
Parent Guide
The Old Ways is a mature horror film with strong supernatural themes, intense psychological terror, and disturbing imagery. It deals with adult themes of cultural identity, demonic possession, and ancestral trauma. Not suitable for children or young teenagers.
Content breakdown
Contains ritualistic violence including binding, restraint, and implied torture. Scenes of supernatural attacks, body horror with disturbing transformations, and intense peril throughout. Several characters are threatened with death or harm. Some blood and injury shown.
Very scary with strong supernatural horror elements. Features demonic possession themes, disturbing imagery of body transformation, psychological terror, and intense suspense. Includes scenes of ritualistic practices that may be disturbing. Atmospheric horror builds throughout with jump scares and unsettling imagery.
Some strong language including occasional use of profanity. Not excessive but present in tense situations. Includes religious exclamations and emotional outbursts.
Minimal sexual content. Some suggestive dialogue and brief scenes of ritualistic undressing for ceremonial purposes. No explicit sexual content or nudity beyond what's necessary for the ritual context.
Brief scenes of alcohol consumption. Some ritualistic use of traditional substances as part of healing ceremonies. No glorification of substance abuse.
High emotional intensity throughout. Deals with themes of cultural dislocation, ancestral guilt, fear of the unknown, and psychological trauma. Creates sustained tension and anxiety. Characters experience fear, desperation, and psychological distress.
Parent tips
This R-rated horror film contains intense supernatural themes, disturbing imagery, and scenes of peril that make it unsuitable for younger viewers. Parents should be aware of strong horror elements including demonic possession themes, ritualistic violence, and psychological terror. The film deals with mature themes of cultural dislocation and ancestral guilt that may be difficult for children to process. Recommended for mature teenagers only, with parental guidance suggested for discussions about cultural beliefs and supernatural folklore.
Parent chat guide
Parent follow-up questions
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- What cultural elements in the film were familiar or new to you?
- How did the film balance supernatural horror with psychological themes?
- What did you think about the villagers' methods for dealing with possession?
- How did Cristina's perspective change throughout the film?
- What made certain scenes particularly effective or frightening?
🎭 Story Kernel
At its core, 'The Old Ways' is less about demonic possession and more about the violence of cultural disconnection. Protagonist Cristina, a journalist returning to her Mexican homeland, initially approaches the local brujería with cynical skepticism, treating it as anthropological spectacle. Her possession becomes a brutal metaphor for the trauma of severed roots—the 'demon' isn't an external entity but the unresolved shame and anger of abandoning her heritage. The film argues that healing isn't found in modern rationality but in surrendering to ancestral wisdom, however terrifying. The real horror is Cristina's realization that she must be broken down—physically and psychologically—to be rebuilt by the traditions she once dismissed.
🎬 Visual Aesthetics
Director Christopher Alender employs a grimy, tactile visual language that feels sweat-stained and feverish. The color palette is dominated by sickly greens and muddy browns, with the cave setting acting as a visceral, womblike prison. Cinematography uses tight, claustrophobic close-ups during exorcism rituals, making the audience feel the suffocation alongside Cristina. Symbolism is blunt but effective: the recurring imagery of binding (ropes, restraints) mirrors Cristina's psychological constraints. The camera often lingers on practical effects—the grotesque mouth stitches, the oily black vomit—prioritizing bodily horror over CGI, grounding the supernatural in painfully physical reality.
🔍 Details & Easter Eggs
💡 Behind the Scenes
Lead actress Brigitte Kali Canales performed many of her own intense physical scenes, including the sequences bound in the cave, to enhance the authenticity of her character's ordeal. The film was shot on location in Veracruz, Mexico, with local non-actors often used for village scenes to add cultural verisimilitude. Director Christopher Alender cited 1970s folk horror films like 'The Wicker Man' as a key visual influence, aiming for a similarly immersive and unsettling atmosphere. The prosthetic effects for the demonic manifestations were created using traditional practical methods rather than digital effects.
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