“The Old Ways”: Netflix’s Horror Movie Set In Mexico

"The Old Ways" is a movie set in Veracruz, Mexico. In this film we follow the story of Cristina, a woman kidnapped to be subjected to an exorcism.

When we talk about exorcism in horror movies, the first image that is drawn in the minds of many people is that of the Catholic priest who uses the bible, crucifixes, and invokes Latin phrases to confront evil spirits. "The Old Ways" gives a twist to this idea, in this production, the role of exorcist falls on an elderly Mexican woman who knows the ancient customs and witchcraft rites of her region. As explained in the film, she is a witch and the one in charge of freeing the protagonist from a demon that she claims to see inside her.

The film's proposal manages to differentiate itself from what we regularly achieve in productions of this genre. The film has received excellent reviews (it has a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and has been a resounding success with the public, becoming in a couple of days one of the most-watched titles on Netflix.

The film is directed by Christopher Alender and the script is the work of Marcos Gabriel. The cast is made up of Brigitte Kali Canales (Cristina), Andrea Cortés (Miranda), Julia Vera (Luz), Sal Lopez (Javi) AJ Bowen (Carson)

“The Old Ways” had its first presentation at the Sitges Film Festival on October 8, 2020. This August 25, the film premiered on the Netflix streaming platform.

The story of "The Old Ways"

Cristina López is a Mexican-American reporter who returns to her native Veracruz to do a report. After visiting La Boca, a cave that she was warned not to go to, she wakes up in a room and discovers that she has been kidnapped by an old man and woman who are completely unknown to her. These are a local witch and her son. Little by little Cristina discovers that her captors are convinced that she is possessed by a demon and that they intend to free her from the evil spirit. Cristina does not believe any of that and suffers with terror all the strange rites to which she is subjected, while trying to find a way to escape.

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The movie takes place most of the time in one room. Throughout its development, it uses several flashbacks to show us moments in Cristina's life that allow us to understand the character, her story and her emotional reality.

A must for fans of horror movies

"The Old Ways" has a very well structured script, which always keeps the audience's attention alive. In the first part, we share the anguish of the main character at being kidnapped by a couple of strangers, and the disbelief she feels before some captors who claim to act with the good intention of freeing her from a demon.

The film takes advantage of each of its resources to the fullest and creates an excellent horror story with a coherent script. It offers those terrifying scenes that every lover of this genre wants to see, but without neglecting the development of an interesting and well-structured story. If you are a fan of horror movies, you should not miss this production.