While some narrative elements might resonate more with anime or 90s series fans, The Watchers excels in its visual and mystery aspects, keeping fans engaged. However, the twist at the end may not meet everyone’s expectations.
The Watchers, a supernatural thriller, delivers legitimate frights and weaves a larger narrative about identity, grief, and self-acceptance. It delves into the oppressive and mean-spirited nature of people. Dakota Fanning’s (Taken, Man on Fire) portrayal of a woman grappling with a tragic loss and guilt stands out as it’s not a typical behavior on screen. While some narrative elements might resonate more with anime or 90s series fans, The Watchers excels in its visual and mystery aspects, keeping fans engaged. However, the twist at the end may not meet everyone’s expectations.
Directed and written by Ishana Shyamalan, M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, the story takes place in Ireland. Based on a novel by A.M. Shine, the story follows Mina, played by Fanning, as someone just moving through her day-to-day emotionally shutdown. Though over a decade has passed, Mina still grapples with her loss. Her nights consist of her occasionally donning a wig and pretending to be someone else. As she tells viewers through conversation with a bird she names Darwin, she doesn’t like herself much. Now, tasked with delivering this bird somewhere for her pet shop boss, she’s about to enter a situation that puts her life and wits on the line.
The Watchers Has Legitimate Scares
One moment, it felt like the internet myth Slenderman, but it was more chilling than any adaptation of that monster thus far. Aside from what’s lurking, which lumbers through the forest at night, it plays with people in the forest. It alters their perception of reality, leading to confusion for some and reckonings for others who haven’t unpacked their past like Mina. The chills pile on as the movie feels like Slenderman meets Pitch Black meets Taking Lives. The atmospheric, eerily quiet forest is fright-filled enough, but incorporating odd sounds and witnessing what lies in the murky woods slowly elongating is a nightmare. Ishana Shyamalan handles the frights in The Watchers with a keen eye that captures the terror of the seen and what remains unseen.
Performances Work But Dialogue Lacks Authenticity
Rounding out the cast of people stuck in the woods is the hotheaded Daniel, played by Oliver Finnegan (We Are Lady Parts, Outlander); the sad yet kind Ciara, played by Georgina Campbell (Barbarian, T.I.M.); and the matriarch keeping them alive, Madeline, played by Olwen Fouéré (The Northman, Tarot). The cast works together as everyday people caught in supernatural circumstances. The layout makes it easy to sympathize with Mina’s suspicions.
However, the dialogue is the most harmful aspect of The Watchers as the words feel more at home in an anime, after-school special, or sitcom. Conversations also feel incomplete, as though audiences lack a crucial component. It detracts but never enough to lose tension, as audiences are right back in it when creepy sounds and images arise. And while opinions may differ on the reveal, it works for me, given all the factors. In fact, I’d enjoy a sequel.
The Watchers builds a tense atmosphere with an intense sound design that places you inside the tiny space with the trapped quartet. The dialogue might fall short. However, the performances and set maintain a strain that leaves audiences on edge. Ishana Shyamalan’s direction shows an intuitive ability to capture human moments in a way in abnormal settings, but The Watchers needed far better dialogue.
