‘The Watchers’ is the debut feature of Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of director M. Night Shyamalan.
Ishana wrote the script based on a folklore horror novel called, The Watchers by A.M. Shine.
Shyamalan’s vision and promise is evident in the film and the movie displays her ability for great suspense-building and a willingness to experiment with film tropes. The film weaves a tapestry of suspense and horror with a combination of psychological terror and survival drama. The Shyamalan-esque final twist is pretty good!
Dakota Fanning’s performance was great, but the supporting cast felt a bit weak. The storyline itself is a bit underdeveloped and it is not as gripping as one would expect it to be. However, I thought some foreshadowing literary elements were well done.
The cinematography is awesome and captures the gloomy and eerie beauty of the Irish wilderness (filming location: Dublin, Wicklow and Galway). The Irish fairy tale-like forest is a hauntingly beautiful backdrop. Moreover, the soundtrack, with a heavy emphasis on violins, builds suspense and is effective for the narrative.
In conclusion, the movie is a bit of a slow burn but I think it is worth watching for the cinematography and sound alone.