The Watchers is a horror thriller movie coming from Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night Shyamalan. It follows Mina, an American in Ireland who becomes trapped in the woods with three others as mysterious creatures gather each night to watch them. After seeing the trailer for the first time in theaters, I had high hopes. But after watching this, I feel a little let down by the stiff performances, lack of depth to the forest and creatures, and safe story.Â
What initially drew me to this movie was the idea of the creatures. The idea that these people had to stay in a bunker while these creatures watched and learned from them is fascinating. But after seeing them on screen, I was a bit disappointed. They are written to be savages with a history with humans, but their design was lackluster and they didn’t deliver the savagery I thought I’d get.Â
The performances all felt stiff and shallow, yet the cast was very talented. I think part of the problem is each character is not only written one-dimensionally but also there is too much exposition. It felt like there were very few moments of characters talking about themselves, which sucks because this type of story could’ve featured interesting characters with different viewpoints and opinions, leading to new conflicts.Â
What was done well was the atmosphere. Shymalan used the forest to her advantage to create a feeling of hopelessness. The characters know that there is a perimeter around the bunker where they can venture and still get back safely. That area is fleshed out well and you feel the despair as the characters know they are trapped unless they want to risk their lives in a mad dash into the unknown.Â
The bunker or “Coop” is also well done. The sound design of the creatures gathering, watching, and applauding is chilling when you have no idea what’s on the other side of the glass. When they become frustrated and try to break in, there is genuine terror as they are trapped in a small room with only one escape.Â
The climax of the movie is extremely rushed. The problem is it comes too late after so much exposition, that the stakes are almost non-existent. We get a patented Shyamalan twist at the end, but it was incredibly predictable and had little consequence to the story at all. It’s a shame because the potential was there for something far more interesting.Â
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Watchers had the potential to be fascinating but was undone by a weak script and a rushed climax. The creatures are given an interesting lore but they’re not given much to do. The cast is stuck in a seemingly endless loop of exposition dumps and I honestly found myself bored a lot during my watch. I think Ishana Night Shyamalan has talent, displayed by her cinematography, and she will have more opportunities. The Watcher just wasn’t it for me.
