The Watchers (2024) Blu-ray Review: Weak Plot but Strong Direction from Ishana Night Shyamalan

The Watchers marks the directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, who produced. The movie is based on the novel of the same title by A. M. Shine. Dakota Fanning plays the lead as Mina, and also as her twin sister, Lucy (two names mysteriously borrowed from Bram Stoker’s Dracula that have no bearing on the plot). Mina is an American working at a pet store in Ireland, and her boss gives her the task of spending the next two days driving across the country and delivering a golden conure parrot to a zoo near Belfast.

After a very short car trip, Mina and her bird are hopelessly lost in the woods. An elderly woman, Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), comes to Mina’s rescue and brings her through the forest to the Coop. The Coop is a bunker that Madeline is imprisoned in each night with Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finegan) – all of whom have been trapped and forced to stand in front of a one-way mirror so the Watchers can monitor them closely. There are very stern warnings about going out after dark and trying to view or interact with the Watchers.

Time passes rather quickly in the Coop. The days are filled with scavenging and foraging; the nights are spent standing in front of the mirror. The Coop is, of course, not everything it seems to be. One of those stuck in the Coop is, of course, not everything they seem to be. The plot is a bit weak and familiar and makes moves that aren’t as interesting as other obvious moves. It is not a good sign when the viewer sees better trajectories for the plot than the scriptwriter and/or novelist. The direction, though, from Ishana Night Shyamalan hints at a bright future. There are ample opportunities for well-choreographed scenes with interesting set and character design, and Shyamalan capitalizes on all of them.

Bonus Features:

• Welcome to the Show: The Making of The Watchers (8:51)
• Creating The Watchers (5:03)
• Constructing the Coop (6:17)
• Ainriochtan and the Irish Fairy Folklore – spoilers abound (4:22)
• Lair of Love – Bachelor / Bachelorette spoof used in the film (9:30)