Honestly, two thoughts came to mind right away when I saw this as the latest HBO Saturday night movie. They have nothing to do with plot lines or creature design but all about who was behind this picture. Before anything else, my first thought was that THE WATCHERS was a Nepo-Baby’s attempt at a movie, and the second thought was that surely the work was going to have a shocking or hopefully shocking twist towards the end because that is just what these kind of movies offer.
THE WATCHERS, you see, is a Shyamalan movie. It is a 2024 horror film written and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, in her directorial debut produced by her father M. Night Shyamalan. Since it is a Shyamalan movie then, we automatically look for the third-act twist that is a trademark of her father’s movies like The Sixth Sense, Signs, Knock At The Cabin, Unbreakable, and more. Now, I’m not trying to be cruel labeling Ishana as a Nepo-Baby, but you just can’t help but think that she stepped up to directing a movie only after 2nd unit directing on some of her father’s works and just got the bump up to helm her own production.
What is it about? Well, it seems Mina (Dakota Fanning), an American immigrant working in a pet shop in Galway, Ireland, struggles to come to terms with the death of her mother, which she inadvertently caused fifteen years earlier, and is estranged from her twin sister Lucy. Mina’s boss tasks her with delivering a valuable golden conure parrot to a zoo near Belfast. En route, her car breaks down, stranding her in a forest. She becomes lost and follows an old woman, Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), to a bunker-like building, nicknamed “The Coop”, and meets two other occupants, Ciara ( Georgina Campbell) and Daniel Oliver Finnegan). Madeline explains that mysterious entities called “The Watchers” observe the group through the mirrored window of the Coop every night and will kill anyone who leaves “The Coop” at night. Mina braves to investigate by the brightness of day as “The Watchers” shun the light.
Surely those who watch this 102-minute movie will learn what “The Watchers” are and just why they watch. The question remains of whether this movie will hold your attention. MovieFreak.com says, “As imperfect as this hushed supernatural chiller may be, the demons it conjures up — both real and metaphorical — left a lasting impression, and that’s nothing to scoff at.” But FilmWeek says, “The apple does not fall far from the tree… But I wish that apple rolled down the hill just a wee little bit.”
Seek out Ishana Night Shyamalan’s THE WATCHERS if you dare on HBO and on Max.
