Director Lucky McKee has a long-standing career in independent cinema. His debut solo feature, May, captured the hearts of cult audiences and placed him on many genre fans’ watchlists. Since May, McKee has gone on to direct The Woman, Kindred Spirits, All Cheerleaders Must Die, and The Woods. Each of these films feature strong female protagonists and McKee has garnered a reputation for conveying feminine stories. His latest project, Old Man, bucks that trend.
With no women in sight, Old Man is instead a tale of two men, strangers to one another, who cross paths one fateful night. When a lost traveller (Marc Senter) stumbles upon an old man (Stephen Lang) living in a remote cabin in the woods, the two engage in a lengthy conversation that will bring to light the truths that they’ve been running from, the sins they have tried to forget, and the terrifying bond that connects them.
Made during the height of the pandemic, the film strips everything back and with only two characters on screen for the bulk of the run time, Old Man is a very intimate movie. There is a wavy amount of dialogue and so much of the film’s success rests on the shoulders of Marc Senter and Stephen Lang. The two actors give everything they’ve got and when combined with McKee’s keen eye, Old Man becomes something rather special.
THN first reviewed Old Manfor its US release, calling it “a chamber piece of elegant words and philosophical musings.” Old Man has now finally landed on UK shores. To celebrate the event, THN caught up with McKee to find out how the gender swap affected his method of storytelling, the importance of long takes, and the incredible talents of his cast:
Kat Hughes is a UK born film critic and interviewer who has a passion for horror films. An editor for THN, Kat is also a Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critic. She has bylines with Ghouls Magazine, Arrow Video, Film Stories, Certified Forgotten and FILMHOUNDS and has had essays published in home entertainment releases by Vinegar Syndrome and Second Sight. When not writing about horror, Kat hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy along with her five-year-old daughter.
