Old 2021

The Kapa family, consisting of parents Guy and Prisca, along with their children, eight-year-old Maddox and six-year-old Trent, arrive at an upscale resort for what’s intended to be a memorable family getaway. After settling into their luxurious accommodations, Trent forms a friendship with a boy named Idlib (Kailen Jude), and the two engage in various fun activities, like interviewing other guests about their names and jobs. Behind the scenes, however, Guy and Prisca grapple with the reality of their impending divorce, heightened by Prisca’s distress over a severe stomach tumor.

During breakfast, a nearby table features a middle-aged doctor, Charles, who is accompanied by his self-absorbed wife Chrystal, their daughter Kara, and Charles’s mother Agnes. As everyone enjoys their meals, chaos erupts when Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird) suffers an epileptic seizure, prompting Charles and her husband Jarin to spring into action.

The Kapa family joins Charles’s group for a trip to a secluded beach. It’s there that Maddox encounters a rapper named “Mid-Size Sedan,” or Brendan (Aaron Pierre), who was seen earlier with a female companion diving in the water. The children frolic while the adults bask in the sun, but the discovery of Brendan’s companion’s lifeless body sends shockwaves through the group. Tensions rise as Charles suspects foul play from Brendan, igniting rampant speculation among the adults, who soon witness the shocking death of Agnes as well.

As Jarin and Patricia arrive at the beach, the children begin experiencing strange phenomena. Brendan discloses his medical ailments—hemophilia and, by extension, frequent nosebleeds—setting the stage for unsettling events to unfold. Maddox and Trent, now portrayed by Thomasin McKenzie and Alex Wolff, respectively, and Kara, also ages up unexpectedly as they grapple with the bizarre circumstances on the beach. Attempts to leave are thwarted by excruciating head pains, and they quickly realize that time flows differently here; injuries heal at alarming speeds and aging accelerates drastically.

As the chaos continues, Prisca’s medical condition worsens, necessitating an emergency surgery that bizarrely sees her adorned with a growing tumor larger than a cantaloupe. As the children mature rapidly into teenagers and young adults, the dangers of the beach escalate; Kara becomes inexplicably pregnant, leading to the traumatic conclusion of a stillborn birth shortly thereafter.

Mounting panic ensues as Charles descends into madness, ultimately taking Brendan’s life in a fit of rage. In the turmoil, the adults attempt to devise a plan for escape, but their efforts are derailed as tragic accidents unfold, culminating in the deaths of several members of the group. The Kapa family’s heart-wrenching discussions reveal deep-rooted issues as they face their deteriorating fates.

By nightfall, the once vibrant beachgoers have aged into frail remnants of their former selves. In a poignant moment, Guy confesses his enduring love for Prisca before they pass away, leaving their children to mourn their untimely demise. With daybreak brings further transformations; Maddox and Trent, now portrayed by Emun Elliott and Embeth Davidtz, unravel a coded message linking them to their escape.

The discovery of a coral reef reveals a potential exit from their surreal prison, but tragedy strikes again when they struggle against the reef. Just as it seems all hope is lost, the resort’s deceptive truths come to light; it’s a front for medical experiments leveraging the island’s time-warping properties to expedite clinical trials for life-saving drugs. With insights gleaned from a journal left behind, the siblings ultimately expose the resort’s dark intentions, setting off a chain reaction that leads to the arrest of the staff.

In the closing scenes, authorities are summoned as the narrative unfolds that intertwines the fates of many lost souls and the siblings. As they take to the skies in a helicopter, the chilling legacy of their time at the beach lingers, casting a long shadow over their newfound freedom.