A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
The Watchers is the directorial debut of M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana Shyamalan. The question regarding whether she got this job because of her talents or because of her nepotism is front and center throughout this entire feature. Would she succeed where her father faltered or succumb to her father’s failures? The answer is both, Ishana makes a very strong directorial debut with her first feature film but succumbs to all the writing flaws that afflict the Shyamalan family.
We follow Mina as she becomes trapped in the deep forest of Ireland where a small home is her only refuge as she is hunted by creatures that only come out at night. This story is naturally creepy, which Ishana masterfully immerses the audience in. The atmosphere in The Watchers is as gripping as it is unsettling. Throughout the runtime, you constantly have the feeling that you are being watched and observed by something you can’t see. Then when it comes time to seek shelter, you feel the intensity and tension of running out of time as creatures of nightmare begin to hunt you in the woods that feel like they go on for eternity. This atmosphere that Ishana creates masterfully and fully immerses you in the horror that our characters are in. I just wished her writing was as strong as her direction.
What seems to be a dominant trait among the Shyamalans is the inability to write without 70% of the dialogue being exposition. Sadly, this trait is abundant in The Watchers. The majority of lines are forced and serve no purpose other than telling the audience what is happening. We are never given a moment where we just watch the characters naturally interact in the woods. They are constantly explaining stuff to each other as we are forced fed every ounce of information. Because of this inherent flaw, I never really cared for any of the characters nor the relationships that they build as the months go by. But that is not the end of the questionable writing decisions.
The story is littered with plot holes and lacks internal logic. Our characters have been missing for several months and no one has looked for them, and when they return it is like nothing happened. Or how we are told the importance of following the rules, but when they break the rules there are no consequences for their actions. Or did at any point the characters think about rearranging the furniture in their glass prison? These issues and many more plague this script. I don’t know if this is because of the source material, which I haven’t read, or because of Ishana’s writing abilities, but it made it frustrating at points to watch. Furthermore, when you think the movie is over, there are another 15 minutes left for a plot twist that adds nothing to the story other than an uneven ending. This left me partially frustrated with the movie as it is both well-made and not well-made.
As for the performances, they are fine. The entire ensemble is clearly being held back by the expository material, but are giving the best performances they can. It is lovely seeing Dakota Fanning back on the big screen as she makes her debut as a scream queen. Her performance is quite restrictive and wooden but feels perfect for a character who is suppressing her trauma. Georgina Campbell continues in her work of being an underrated scream queen. Oliver Finnegan gives a performance that shows more promise in his future career. While Olwen Fouere feels like the most wasted of the cast as she is reduced to nothing more than an expository mouthpiece. Overall, the cast does the best that they can as they are mostly wasted by the material.
In conclusion, The Watchers contains the best and worst characteristics of the Shyamalans. Ishana managed to create a gripping and tense atmosphere in a single location but nearly wasted it with her expository writing. It is still an entertaining movie, but you can’t help but feel frustrated by it. On the bright side, it was refreshing to see a movie finally remember that faeries are actually creatures of nightmares and not cute little children with wings.
My Rating: C+
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