The Watchers – Review

I think so many would benefit from a dad like M. Night Shyamalan. Here’s a man who was on top of the world, considered Hollywood’s new golden boy, who then went through a series of failures and triumphs to emerge a consistent and interesting filmmaker after his foray into would-be blockbuster territory. That wealth of knowledge and experience could benefit an up-and-comer (and has, given that he took Anya Taylor-Joy under his wing during Split and Glass). His daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, was allowed to direct episodes of AppleTV+’s Servent and served as second unit director on Old and Knock at the Cabin. Some of the visual flair of those films has made its way into her solo directorial debut, The Watchers. Based on a novel by Ireland’s A.M. Shine, the Blinding Edge Pictures production is a keen, messy thriller that shows what tricks she learned from her father while still feeling separate and unique.

And Ishana’s got the right stuff! This taught, lean movie features more dread than scares and contains some beautiful imagery to offset some of the clunkier bits of dialogue and lore that weigh part of it down. It doesn’t hurt that the film is led by Dakota Fanning, stepping up to remind everyone that she’s still a great actress capable of leading a film. Having Olwen Fouéré (Tarot, The Northman) along for the ride doesn’t hurt. The Irish actress has a striking appearance and a presence that seems straight from the Irish Gate Theatre (and has performed/directed there many times) that feels tailor-made for the world of a Shyamalan.

Fanning stars as Mina, an American expat living in either Dublin, Wicklow, or Galloway (the film was shot in all three locations). While the exotic pet shop she works at may not be all that thrilling, but it’s keeping her well away from her family and whatever part of them she’s running from. When tasked to take an exotic bird to a nearby zoo, she winds up stuck in a forest that isn’t on any map and that she can seem to find her way out of. After being summoned to a bunker as the sun sets, she’s informed that they must all perform for the beings on the other side of the two-way mirror that makes up one wall. What are these things, and why are they watching? What happens if you’re out after dark, and is there any escape?

The film’s thrills are embedded in a strange, supernatural sensation coming from the foggy forest’s atmosphere. It’s a stark contrast to the brightly lit, concrete room that the foursome is forced to live in. Mina is now trapped with Madeline (Fouéré), a professor who strictly follows the rules laid down by the oft-mentioned, unseen scientist (John Lynch) who built the bunker. Along for the ride is recently widowed Ciara (Barbarian’s Georgina Campbell), whose husband left to attempt to find rescue, and weird-ass Daniel (Outlander’s Oliver Finnegan). It’s a solid cast, led with gusto by Fanning’s moving performance. The location and the limited time outside of it allow the cast time to separate, giving everyone their great moments of screentime, before cloistering them back in the bunker that allows them all to simmer like a good stew. Production designer Ferdia Murphy devised a wonderful mixture of naturalism and brutalist visuals for the film, with a built-in soundstage that makes sections of the film feel like live theatre as opposed to a movie. That bunker makes the forest feel all the more natural, smoothing over what might otherwise feel too obviously like a soundstage.

All of that lovely production design doesn’t cover a clunky script. While I enjoy some of the elements of the film (I’m always a sucker for a movie about guilt), the way the story is eked out over a 102-minute runtime can feel a bit restless. There’s a taught, lean movie here that could have been an incredible debut, but she’s got that Shyamalan money backing her. Ishana Night Shyamalan has not been shy about validating the accusations of nepotism, instead choosing to view it as a reason she has to work even harder to prove she deserves that director’s chair. I think she does, but her father’s worst instincts took over in the editing bay as the movie wobbles.

I’ll always be happy to see Abel Korzeniowski listed as composer. His work for Till and Nocturnal Animals were genuinely some of the best works of their years, and he’s delivered a moody and unsettling score for Ishana Shyamalan’s debut. Moments of it feel almost cliche while others tiptoe towards light, classical piano. Just a really interesting score that I wanted to highlight.

The Watchers is a bit of a mess but it’s an interesting one. Few get the opportunity to do something like this at a (reportedly) $70m budget. Ishana has taken all of her opportunities and run with them in ways that I refuse to hold against her. It’s not a failure by any means, but given what she cranked out first it makes me excited for what she’s got coming in the years ahead.

The Watchers is currently in theatres.