The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night. You can’t see them, but they see everything.
What We Thought:
As someone who is not a fan of M. Night Shyamalan I should have known better than to see The Watchers. Yes I know he only produced this, but his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, pretty much made a clone of her dad’s films. I was hoping she would have her own unique style and bring something new to the horror genre, but unfortunately it feels like one of M. Night’s films. If you like his work you’ll probably like this film. It wasn’t for me.
The worst part is, it opens pretty well. There’s a cold open where you see a man alone in the woods being hunted by a creature or spirit. We don’t know yet exactly what it is. Then it cuts to Dakota Fanning’s character working at a pet store where she is tasked to deliver a bird the next day. There are some absolutely beautiful scenic shots of Ireland as we follow Fanning’s adventure. Then she gets stuck in the woods and it pretty much becomes a single location, do what you’re told type film like M. Night’s Knock at the Cabin.
The movie is supposed to be tense and thrilling with limited characters in this one location. Fanning meets three others in the woods and is told the rules to stay alive. One of the characters had a husband with her at one point (the man in the cold open) and she believes he’s still alive. The four go about foraging during the day, but returning to The Coop before the sun sets so the Watchers can watch them.
Unfortunately this is when the film loses my interest. Right away the woman telling everyone what to do gets on your nerves. Fanning, the only American character in the film, wants to escape and breaks some rules. The Watchers are never fully explained so the viewer doesn’t even know what they are or what they are capable of at this point. You know these characters will eventually have to fight their way out so you sit waiting for the pieces to fall as everything is foreshadowed excessively. Fanning still has the bird she was supposed to deliver, you think it might come into play eventually?
The biggest issue for me is that I already knew the mythology the story is based on. Most people won’t and I won’t spoil it, but if you know any Celtic creature mythologies you’ll probably guess what’s happening. Plus this being M. Night’s daughter you just know there’s a twist coming. The second half of the third act brings in that twist I saw coming a mile away. You sit there waiting for the twist and it was very easy to guess especially knowing the mythology.
The Watchers might fill a void for people needing some horror right now. If you are a fan of the Shyamalan family you might be entertained by it. I was bored waiting for the pieces to fall. If Ishana Night Shyamalan makes more movies I’ll probably pass on them like I do her father’s films now.
From producer M. Night Shyamalan comes “The Watchers,” written for the screen and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and based on the novel by A.M. Shine.
“The Watchers” stars Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan and Olwen Fouere.
The film is produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan and Nimitt Mankad.
The executive producers are Jo Homewood and Stephen Dembitzer. Joining writer/director Shyamalan behind-the-camera are director of photography Eli Arenson, production designer Ferdia Murphy, editor Job ter Burg and costume design by Frank Gallacher. The music is by Abel Korzeniowski.
The Nerds Templar 