‘The Watchers’ Review: Properly Disturbing Debut Horror

At this point, it’s typical fashion for a Shyamalan to make a movie with a wild, maybe even ridiculous twist, misleading trailers, and destined split reception. M. Night has basically become known for it and, in her directorial debut, his daughter Ishana has proven to be no different.

But that isn’t a bad thing, not at all. In fact, it should be celebrated. As much as people gripe (rightfully so, to an extent) nowadays that movies just aren’t original or “new” anymore, The Watchers has been slammed in all forms of reception for giving them exactly what they wanted. It’s a peculiar, occasionally muddled vision, but a real vision nonetheless.

Based on a novel of the same name, The Watchers follows Mina (Dakota Fanning) as she is quickly thrown into an age-old tale of horror and mystery deep in a forest that nobody can seem to navigate. There’s a lot more to this story than what is given in that blurb, but to spoil any of it would be a crime; whether or not it lands for you, the trademark-Shyamalan twist here is absurd.

It’s the sort of thing you’ll have to sit with, so we’ll come back to it. Regarding the Shyamalan stamp on this thing, while Ishana certainly takes after her dad in some ways, she makes a new name for herself in others. There’s a surprising intricacy to her direction; camera movements are remarkably patient, and reveals, regardless of their actual content, well executed. On that front at least, she’s an incredibly exciting name to watch going forward.

Where she struggles here is the screenplay. The film is paced like a buzzsaw attacking an especially stout tree; starting, stopping, going on a tear before choking up and cutting out all together. Information is divided unevenly throughout the runtime, and exposition is almost always delivered with a blind carelessness. The actual content is often really neat, but it’s thrown out in such a way that makes it feel rushed and unnecessary. Subtlety isn’t a requirement in relaying details to the audience, but it really would’ve helped soften the blow in more than a few moments here.

What ‘The Watchers’ does best, and doesn’t do often enough, is scare. At the core, this is a maddeningly creepy movie.

Though some of what is lost there is made up for in a strong lead turn from Fanning. Even when the words she’s reading do their best to drag her down, she remains mostly adept. She’s dramatic when she needs to be, intermittently interrupting her calculating calmness that otherwise defines her character. Olwen Fouéré is also a joy, as she has been in pretty much all her horror roles as of late. Their dynamic goes a long way in picking up the pieces here.

But what The Watchers does best, and doesn’t do often enough, is scare. At the core, this is a maddeningly creepy movie, advanced by a suffocating, foggy atmosphere and absolutely nightmarish creature design. If it spent a little more time building the suspense and was less worried about making obvious a backstory that didn’t need explaining, we could be having an even more promising conversation than we already are. Still, what’s scary is scary, and The Watchers certainly is, even if only in spurts. 

Maybe folks are looking for something a little more sensible, or wholly coherent? Why The Watchers is falling flat isn’t exactly clear, but to these watchful eyes, it’s a commendable debut from a promising filmmaker. It definitely has problems, a whole host of them, but in this day and age, that may be preferable to something sanitized for mass audiences to no end.

If you’re into horror/thriller hybrids, The Watchers is worth a watch. Despite the reception it’s gotten, at the very least, it’s trying to break the mold. That’s a cause worth donating to just for the sake of keeping it alive, if nothing else.

The Watchers is now playing in cinemas worldwide.

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