M. Night Shyamalan’s career is one of the most divisive I’ve seen in the past few decades. While he directed earlier films, such as Praying with Anger and Wide Awake, his horror film The Sixth Sense put him on the map with a twist that people still talk about today. With directorial highs, such as Unbreakable, Split, and Knock at the Cabin, Shyamalan also has some incredible lows, with The Happening and The Last Airbender. If anything, M. Night Shyamalan proves that it’s possible to build back a strong career in Hollywood after harsh reviews from critics and audiences. For the new horror film The Watchers, Shyamalan takes on a producing credit, with his daughter taking on the role of writer and director.
With The Watchers, Ishana Night Shyamalan makes her film directorial debut, having previously directed six episodes of Apple TV+’s Servant. This film also marks another collaboration between father and daughter, with Ishana previously serving as the second unit director on Old and Knock at the Cabin. Starring a talented cast including Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, and Oliver Finnegan, The Watchers had the potential to bring new frights to horror enthusiasts. However, it fell short of being a cohesive and enjoyable experience, leaving many in the theater disappointed. Want to know more about this new supernatural horror film? Then read on at your own risk!
[Warning: Spoilers from The Watchers are below!]
Mina gets lost in the woods in this horror film from Warner Bros.
Losing someone is never easy, as Mina (Dakota Fanning) knows intimately. Struggling to deal with her mother in a tragic car accident, Mina has run away from everyone and everything she’s ever known. Now living in Galway as an American transplant, she works a dead-end job and goes out in wigs and different identities at night. She’s devoid of emotion, appearing severely depressed and dodging calls from her sister Lucy. There’s no thriving for Mina; she’s barely surviving.
However, her life’s about to change drastically negatively, thanks to a delivery job and a parrot. Tasked with taking the golden conure parrot to a zoo in Belfast, about a three-and-a-half hour drive, things worsen when her car breaks down in the middle of a spooky forest. With the parrot in hand, Mina continues her journey on foot, ultimately getting lost and stumbling upon a cement building with one floor-to-ceiling glass wall in the middle of nowhere. As the sun begins to set and darkness looms over, things in the woods come a-knocking.
Mina follows Madeline (Olwen Fouéré) into the bunker as the latter explains what is happening in the woods. Every night, creatures of some sort come out of the woods, watching the humans locked inside. By morning, the creatures have dispersed and those trapped can once again walk freely among the trees, although there is no means of escape. It’s impossible to make it through the forest before night falls again and getting caught outside the bunker means certain death at the hands of the monsters of the night.
Living inside the bunker with Madeline are Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan), both of which seem close to cracking. Ciara’s husband has been lost to the woods, and her sanity is barely hanging on. Daniel appears to be developing cabin fever with each passing day. Can these four find a way out of the woods before it’s too late, or will they be trapped forever? Old magic runs deep in the mysterious woods, which could impact more than just the souls trapped in the bunker. The only way out of the woods is through them, but it’ll take everything they have and a certain bird to get them through safely.
A mixed message and lackluster story make The Watchers challenging to watch
From the trailer alone, I thought The Watchers had one of the most interesting concepts of any recent horror film. The idea of four people trapped inside a box and being watched by some unknown entities gave me shivers across my entire body. It triggered my fear of being watched and my claustrophobia, and I knew I had to see it. However, somewhere in the translation from the trailer to the actual film, something got lost.
It felt like Ishana Night Shyamalan wasn’t quite sure which horror genre she wanted The Watchers to be in, combining a few different types that made little sense. Some choices felt odd in the desire to negate the obvious and create the twist her father is well known for. So the creatures are shape-shifting fairies? Right on, I can roll with that; however, when all the plot, the film drops significant hints that Mina is one of these fairies to drop that point for a different reveal completely? It’s hard to get behind.
There was so much potential for a good story if Shyamalan had picked a singular thought and ran with it, but instead, between all the conflicting ideas, The Watchers becomes murky and muddled. I wanted to like the film so badly, but I just walked away scratching my head and wondering where it went wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the film; the suspense was palpable, and the idea was strong. However, when we found the underground bunker, it felt like The Watchers had jumped off the deep end.
That being said, the acting of our main four was good. I specifically felt drawn to the characters of Ciara and Daniel, played by Georgina Campbell and Oliver Finnegan, respectively. Daniel made me uncomfortable, which was absolutely the intention of his character. You’re supposed to feel uneasy, as being trapped has made him off-kilter, and rightfully so. I think any one of us would experience the same split with reality as he and, eventually, Ciara experienced in the film. There’s only so much stress the mind can take before it cracks. Campbell and Finnegan did an exceptional job in the film, making my anxiety peak in all the right ways.
The Watchers isn’t worth your time
With the plethora of horror films saturating the market at an alarming rate, we must be picky about what we consume. Unfortunately, The Watchers doesn’t make it to the top of the list. It’s messy and not in a good way, leaving me wishing for more of what worked and perhaps for the time I wasted. There was so much potential, but it was squashed, leaving so much to be desired.
The Watchers is now in theaters.
Learn more about the film, including how to buy tickets, at the official website.
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