Haunt-tober 2024 is here and it’s time to dive into the macabre, the strange and the frightful during this beloved time! Join me as I spend the month discussing new and classic films.
There’s something truly disappointing about a set up that intrigues but has a follow through that falls apart. When you can see the potential a film has, but are left witnessing something inferior, it’s a blow. Enter: The Watchers.
Writer and Director Ishana Shyamalan inherits her father’s curiosity for the strange, but as such with some of his lesser endeavors, she also shows some of his pitfalls.
Troubled young Mina (Dakota Fanning), is haunted by childhood guilt and her estranged sister, Lucy. She works at an Irish pet store and when tasked with delivering a yellow conure named Darwin to a distant zoo, she finds herself in a broken down vehicle, amid a creepy forest.
The film begins as a lost in the woods, fable. Mina finds others stuck in a similar fate, as they reside in a small structure, haunted by a presence outside that keeps them stuck. It’s a mysterious set up and a group that inspires curiosity, but from there it doesn’t go too far.
Their knowledgeable leader Madeleine (Olwen Fouéré) teaches them the rules to survival, which must be followed to keep the monsters at bay. Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan) are also here, keeping their heads low until Mina decides to push the status quo and find a way out.
It’s a haphazardly told tale that lines up question after question, but the answers that come are either confusing or never fully realized. The writing is, unfortunately, the most disappointing part.
While tonally on point and with cinematography that nails the mood, there is a narrative that is over explained with exposition and remains underwhelming when the twists do come. With suspense that becomes tedious.
The Watchers is an unfortunate dud, underutilizing its strengths and instead plodding on to become forgettable. A supernatural story that doesn’t have enough teeth.
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