By: Myriam Akbar
The Watchers is a 2024 film that I would label as dark fantasy. It’s written and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, based on the novel of the same name. The plot follows Mina (played by Dakota Fanning), who finds herself trapped in a bunker with a couple of other people. One of them is a woman named Madeline, who from the beginning stands out. It’s clear that she has more intel than the others and comes off as the leader of the group. She warns Mina of the dangers in the forest, creatures behind the mirrored window that watch them. As you can imagine, the story involves the mystery behind what exactly the creatures are and how the group will find safety.
I will admit that although I enjoyed the film, it was not well received among the cinema community. The most common negative critique that I came across was that the climax was ineffective, due to the “plot twist” providing very little impact or surprise. While that’s completely valid, I believe one of the causes is that the film was promoted as being a psychological thriller, leaning towards horror. It does fit within the genre because the characters are certainly experiencing fear, but I agree that it feels more like a spooky mythical tale. This topic of conversation questions: does horror need to invoke fear for the audience or is it enough for just the characters to be afraid?
Did I enjoy The Watchers? Yes. Was it scary? No. With a simple concept and subtle twist, I can see why some found it underwhelming. However, aspects of the film like the mystical world-building, bird symbolism, and gothic atmosphere make it certainly worth the watch.
Unlike many viewers, I was actually satisfied with the explanation of what the creatures were. I don’t think that the answers themselves were intended to be the overall twist, but instead the character who exposes the truth and their connection to it. Despite relying on telling rather than showing, I found the story compelling because there’s a layer of sadness in the details that stuck with me. Without spoiling too much, the creatures had come into contact with humans in the past and violence took place.This resulted in a generational hatred and separation between the groups. As commonly explored in fantasy, fear and discrimination play significant roles. I’m a big fan of scripts that take this approach of making the unrealistic believable to the viewer by tapping into human behavior.
The reason that Mina is in the forest in the first place, is because her car breaks down as she is traveling to deliver a bird to a zoo. The script plays with aspects of a bird such as wings, cages, the feeling of being trapped to tie together the details in the film. It demonstrates that creatures of all kinds want to be free, to exist as themselves without persecution for doing just that. The gothic atmosphere and mood corresponds with the bird symbolism well. The misty, dim look is both intentional and due to the lack of sunlight because of the creatures’ inability to be in the sun. The audience knows that the characters will not only be free from the creatures if they make it out of the forest, but will enter a space where they can let the light shine on them.
What I would have done differently with this film is outwardly intertwine the explanation throughout the course of scenes. The type of creatures we see in The Watchers are not new to the eyes of cinema fans. We’ve read and seen them before which may have contributed to the negative reviews. I also thought when I watched the trailer that I would be transported to a completely unfamiliar world with unfamiliar inhabitants. The type is not enough to hide within a twist, so I would have avoided attempting to shock the audience with it. I would have instead given it away early on and rely on other ways of shocking the audience. For example, character deaths and betrayal. In order for this to be effective, the dialogue and character interactions would need to be more effective.
With its highs and lows, The Watchers took flight this year and only landed for some. If you’re a fan of M. Night Shyamala’s work, gothic fantasy, or just want to see the talents of Dakota Fanning–check this film out!
