The Watchers movie review

M. Night Shyamalan is known for his strange films, but their “strangeness” does not always benefit the works. That’s why for every conventional Glass we have at least The Last Airbender, which Avatar fans will never seem to forgive the director.

It is interesting to note that the director was assisted by his daughter Ishana Knight Shyamalan with his last films, namely Time and Knocking on the Door. This was probably in preparation for her directorial debut, which was the horror The Watchers. And judging by its quality, Ishana took only the best from her father. The only thing she still lacks is general directorial experience.

The protagonist Mina (Dakota Fanning) is forced to travel to another city to deliver a rare parrot, and on the way gets lost in a mystical forest somewhere in Ireland. She finds three other survivors who explain that at night they must stay in a vault, where dangerous and mysterious creatures, the Watchers, watch them through a two-way mirror. When the sun is shining, the monsters hide in the forest, but this is not enough time to leave the forest. Therefore, Minnie will have to gradually get used to her new life, while trying to find a way out and maintain the already fragile semblance of peace within the group.

The screenplay is based on the book of the same name by A. M. Shine’s book of the same name. The source material received some criticism for its too slow plot development in the middle of the story. It is logical that it is impossible to transfer everything into a feature-length movie. But we have a rare case where this was exclusively for the benefit of the story.

In some places, it seems that the script does not show some details and leaves out the details of the “ordinary” life of the main characters in extreme conditions. Instead, the film crew focused on the feeling of constant danger and the attempts of the team of survivors to figure out how to escape.

The irony is that at the beginning of the story, no one but the main character believes in salvation. Everyone is used to living by specific rules. The appearance of Mina begins to gradually destroy these rules, and at the same time, the established social norms within the group. It turns out that the protagonist is dealing with both dangerous monsters and people who can do something wrong at a critical moment and set everyone up.

The film takes its time with the plot, which means that it still retains some key elements of the original source. But The Watchers does not forget to regularly throw a new crisis, threat or piece of important information at the audience. The pace is almost standard for a horror movie. No one bombards you with explanations, because it would only destroy the sense of horror, but the authors carefully show you new pieces of the puzzle. That’s why you’ll be riveted to the screen pretty quickly, and your interest won’t wane for a minute.

If we evaluate the way the movie works with the feeling of fear, some questions may arise. Some scenes turned out to be extremely creative, and the concept of an invisible enemy who is always around also arouses intrigue. The story also does not use banal “screamers”. But sometimes the script resorts to horror logic in its worst manifestations: for example, characters may start telling something important for the overall setting during a dangerous situation or do things that will obviously lead to unpleasant consequences. But in general, I hardly ever feel scared while watching.

However, it was not without surprises, which M. Night Shyamalan loves so much. Perhaps his daughter, the director, decided to adopt this feature from her father. At the moment when another horror would have already ended, The Watchers is just approaching the final act. Even in it, the decisive confrontation ends in a very interesting way, and it also competently resolves the protagonist’s internal conflict.

As in many good and not-so-good horror films, the story of the protagonist’s internal trauma unfolds in the background of the main events. “The Watchers is a rare case where the elements of family drama do not harm the plot at all. On the contrary, they perfectly complement the main points of the story without drawing too much attention.

Separately, The Watchers is visually stunning. The design of the monsters seems simple, but it uses the effect of the “eerie valley” correctly. Moreover, they try not to show the enemies openly once again, so that your imagination does not languish idly. The overall aesthetics evoke pleasant memories of The Witch of the Blair Witch.

If this film had been released by Blumhouse Productions, it would have been immediately considered one of the best in the company’s horror portfolio. But this is just the debut film of a young director, which only adds to its positive bonuses. Yes, there are no attempts to reinvent the genre, and some stereotypes spoil the impression. However, after watching the movie, there are no unnecessary questions.

Now I would like to wish Ishana Night Shyamalan further success, inspiration and creativity. Because there is a high probability that The Watchers will be the beginning of the career of an outstanding author of thrillers and horror. You can never have too many good representatives of this genre.

And the movie gets a special subjective honor for its cute parrot as one of the central characters.