The Watchers Review: A Folk Horror Misfire!

Folk horror is arguably one of the most fascinating horror subgenres due to its endless supply of folktales and legends to explore as it relates to the modern world. Whether it be groups of people, mysterious beings, or untouched areas of land, fear of the unknown is a consistent force that has proven to evolve into different forms over the passage of time. However, no matter its form, the fear of living among beings and ideas we don’t fully understand results in a desire to eliminate them altogether.

The Watchers, directed and written for the screen by Ishana Night Shyamalan, is heavily influenced by Irish folklore, allowing Shyamalan to discover and uncover to her audience a world not yet explored by many. With limitless creativity at her disposal, The Watchers exhibits Shyamalan’s developing skills behind the camera but her constant exposition based screenwriting makes The Watchers a missed opportunity.

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Mina (Dakota Fanning), a 28 year old woman unable to shake her own past and the guilt that lives inside of her, works at a pet shop in Ireland. When she is asked to make a trip out West to deliver a bird to a customer, her car breaks down and she gets lost in a forest off the grid. As night falls, her surroundings begin to grow eerie and Mina finds herself trapped in a cabin-like house called “The Coop,” with three other strangers being watched and preyed upon by sinister creatures known as “The Watchers.”

The film’s greatest flaw is that it only scratches the surface of the folklore it chooses to explore. The concept of the unknown is bone-chilling. It is what can elevate horror and tap into our deepest fears and consciousness. When Mina walks into a modern chapter of an ongoing Irish folktale that has been lost inside the forest for centuries, this world feels so much more absorbing than a group of strangers seeking escape. However, Shyamalan settles for explanation upon explanation through her characters that leaves little of her style or direction to overpower the film’s constant exposition.

Just as what we can’t explain can be frightening, the images we create in our brain of the most terrifying monsters outweighs anything visually displayed on a screen. As a result, Shyamalan is able to maintain a sense of ambiguity as it pertains to the identity of “the watchers” utilizing quick editing and dark lighting to keep them at arm’s length, elevating the film’s horror.

The story itself poses admirably examined themes of identity and isolation, speaking on how we often feel the need to observe and mimic the world and the people we are presented with. However, rather than developing a film that utilizes strong direction, the story feels told in a way that is ripped directly out of the pages of a book. Ishana Night Shyamalan assuming love for the source material may have been her downfall, feeling the need to tell its story rather than build upon its influence and create her own.

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The result of The Watchers is an intriguing look at Irish folk tales with some great imagery but its execution as a film collapses on itself. Even if it is her first feature, Ishana Night Shyamalan will have to enhance her storytelling abilities to reflect her potential as a filmmaker if she wishes to secure a second feature.

‘The Watchers’ Rating – 3/5

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