Old People follows Ella and her children as they return to their countryside home to celebrate Ella’s sister’s wedding, only to find themselves surrounded by old people on a killing spree.
Old People is a 2022 German horror film starring Melika Foroutan, Stephan Luca, Maxine Kazis, Bianca Nawrath, Louie Betton, Daniela Galbo, and Otto Emil Koch. It is written and directed by popular horror filmmaker Andy Fetscher.
Old People Story Summary
Ella and her two children Laura and Noah drive down to her hometown to attend her sister Sanna’s wedding. The children are excited to see their father, Lukas, and spend time with their grandfather, Aike. Now divorced, Lukas is presently in a relationship with Kim, a nurse at the Saalheim Retirement House, which is coincidently the same care home Ella’s father is put up in.
After an emotional reunion with Sanna and her fiancé Malick, the sisters and Noah set out to the retirement home to get their father back in time for the wedding reception. Laura stays at home to spend time with her lover, Alex, as they both sneak out to ride his boat in the sea. Alex then shows her a 2000-year-old sculpture that claims to protect the families that stay united and take revenge on the families that fall apart. The monument also has ‘E+L’ in a heart carved on it, which as Alex tells Laura, stands for her parents’ initials.
On the way to the retirement home, Ella and Noah notice many changes in the region, pointing out how only old people are left in the isolated town. Upon reaching the retirement house, they notice how unkept, unsanitary, understaffed, and negligent the place is. The old people are chained to their beds, not given supervision, and have no means of employment. Here, Noah sees an old man and follows him into the room where his grandfather is sitting. Ella then apologises to her mute father for leaving town and together they depart back for their home.
Sanna and Malick get married in a joyous ceremony followed by a lively reception. Ella and Lukas finally find some time to reconcile when Laura pulls them onto the dance floor to dance to their family song. Kim, being a witness to all of this, feels jealous and insecure about Ella and her closeness with Lukas. Meanwhile, back at the retirement home, things start to go south.
The two nurses on night duty go to check up on the patients only to find them awake, listening to the songs being played at the wedding nearby. The male nurse shuts the window, allowing no more sound to come in and instructs everyone to go to bed. In another room, the female nurse catches a senile woman chewing on the electrical wiring, causing the electricity to go out in the city. Violence ensues as the old people revolt against the nurses, causing a bloody and violent fight and the death of the male nurse. One old man escapes and makes his way to the wedding.
The wedding has finally ended, with the guests leaving and the newlyweds departing to their “love-nest.” On their way back, Lukas and Kim encounter the old people on a killing spree and drive back to caution Ella and the children. Meanwhile in the “love-nest,” Sanna and Malick’s romantic first night is interrupted by the leader of the vengeful old people, who beats both of them to death. Numerous other such outbursts follow, as all the old people go on a murderous rampage across town.
Ella wakes up in the middle of the night to a panicked Laura who has spotted a group of old people surrounding the house. Upon finding nothing outside, she tells her daughter to be calm when
Suddenly Aike starts playing the piano, scaring the duo. The recent turn of events coax Ella to check on the newlyweds, and she finds both of them murdered by the leader of the rampage.
No sooner does she run back into the house, lock up everything, and locate her weapons than Lukas and Kim show up, and together they start to look for Noah, who has suddenly gone missing.
Ella takes out her gun and points it at the leader’s head when he asks her “What do you see? A human being or an animal?” Noah then returns claiming that Aike locked him up safely in the attic.
After numerous close encounters with death, when the family finally gathers, Kim locks Ella out, sacrificing her to the old people. Ella is however pulled back inside by Lukas and Laura, but Kim, feeling guilty, jumps out of the window and dies, distracting the killers from Ella. In an attempt to save Ella, Lukas is repeatedly stabbed by the old people. He succumbs to his injuries and dies, and the trio is left to fend for themselves.
Old People Ending Explained
The group then try to escape through the tunnel below the house, which Aike had earlier informed Noah about. But the killers catch up with Ella, who sacrifices herself for the sake of her children.
Fortunately, the childrenreach safety. On reaching the other side, the children are surprised to see their grandfather waiting, but shocked when suddenly the leader of the old people appears out of nowhere. He turns up from behind and puts a knife to Laura’s throat, threatening to kill her. Laura, in spite of being scared, tries to calm Noah down. To do so, she starts singing the family song, and Noah joins.
The humming of the family song proves that the spirit of togetherness, unity, and hope is still alive in the children, which is why the spirit that possessed the old man cannot harm Laura. As Alex mentioned earlier, the ghosts protect the families that stay together and curse those who fall apart. This is also the reason why the old people seemingly attacked the divorced couple, the ‘home-wrecker’ Kim, and the newlywed Sanna and Malick, who were already questioning their future together.
Who All Survive The Attack Of The Old People?
Taking advantage of the leader’s vulnerability and defenselessness, Aike shoots him in the head to save his grandchildren. He then apologises to them and tells them he loves them, and together they set off for the beach where they were supposed to meet Alex. Alex meets them there with a boat, and hesitantly lets Aike get on the boat.
As the four survivors – Laura, Alex, Noah, and Aike – ride away on the boat, they see a mob of zombie-like old people gathering on the shore.
Having escaped, Laura finally realises that the real reason behind the attacks is the ignorance of the younger generation. When asked whether there was a time the young respected the old people, Aike reveals that he cannot remember any such instance that could have prevented the attacks.
He says he can’t recall that far back, implying there never was a time the younger generation behaved well with their elders, and if continued in this manner, such attacks will never stop.
Old People is now streaming on Netflix.
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