2024's Shyamalan Horror Movie That Divided Audiences & Critics Is Now Streaming

Summary

Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut, The Watchers, is a supernatural horror film based on A.M. Shine’s novel, now available to stream.
While the film garnered mixed reviews in theaters, The Watchers offers a unique spin on the folk horror genre worth checking out from home.
With a solid cast including Dakota Fanning and Olwen Fouéré, The Watchers combines supernatural mysteries with horror elements for an intriguing watch.

The Watchers, 2024’s first of two Shyamalan horror movies that divided viewers, is now available to stream. Written and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan in her directorial debut, The Watchers is produced by Ishana’s prolific filmmaker father, M. Night Shyamalan, and based on the novel of the same name by A. M. Shine. The film centers on 28-year-old Mina (Dakota Fanning), an artist who becomes trapped in a forest in Ireland alongside three strangers — and some mysterious nocturnal creatures. After premiering in theaters on June 7, The Watchers garnered just $33 million against its $30 budget.

Saddled with negative reviews, The Watchers‘ quick jump to streaming isn’t necessarily surprising. Unlike M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, a 2024 psychological thriller with mixed reviews, The Watchers didn’t quite have the same pull in theaters. Like The Watchers, Trap was also made on a $30 million budget, but, since its release on August 2, the Josh Hartnett-starring film has grossed a solid $71.8 million. While it remains to be seen how The Watchers‘ sudden streaming debut will impact the film’s legacy, it’s safe to say that Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut is worth checking out from home.

For Fans Of…

M. Night Shyamalan movies like The Village, Lady in the Water, and Old.
Dakota Fanning (Ripley, Coraline) and Olwen Fouéré (Mandy, Tarot).
Supernatural mysteries with some horror elements, including Pan’s Labyrinth, The Ritual, and The Babadook.

The Watchers Is Now Streaming On Max – What It’s About

Ishana Night Shyamalan’s Supernatural Horror Film Takes Dakota Fanning Deep Into A Mysterious Forest

Although The Watchers changes elements of A.M. Shine’s book, the film still centers on Mina, a 28-year-old artist who’s moved to Galway, Ireland. Although she takes a job at a pet shop, Mina hopes to be inspired enough to make art. However, she also needs to overcome some mental blocks; 15 years after her mother’s death, which she inadvertently caused, Mina hasn’t been able to move past her grief. She’s even estranged from her twin sister, Lucy. Soon enough, Mina’s boss at the pet shop tasks her with carting a valuable parrot to a zoo near Belfast.

…a group of mysterious creatures known as “The Watchers” observe the group through the Coop’s mirrored window at night.

Although the job seems easy enough, Mina is plagued by car troubles. When her car fully breaks down, the Irish transplant finds herself stranded in a dense forest. Utterly lost, Mina and Darwin, the parrot she’s meant to deliver, meet an old woman, Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), who leads them to a bunker in the woods. Called “The Coop,” the structure is the temporary home to two other folks, Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan). Stranger still, a group of mysterious creatures known as “The Watchers” observe the group through the Coop’s mirrored window at night.

Mina learns that she and the other residents of The Coop must follow The Watchers’ rules, which Madeline explains in detail. In typical horror movie fashion, The Watchers kill anyone who’s outside The Coop. Secondly, the underground tunnels known as “The Burrows” are strictly off-limits. Although the monstrous Watchers are threatening at night, they have an aversion to sunlight, which prompts them to take refuge in The Burrows. Trapped in the forest for several months, the group doesn’t have much hope left, save for Ciara’s husband, John (Alistair Brammer), who left The Coop a few days before Mina’s arrival.

The Watchers’ twist echoes the reveals from projects like Lady in the Water.

Of course, many would-be viewers are curious to know how Shyamalan’s big twist in The Watchers compares to her father’s signature technique. In some ways, the Shyamalan “brand” may have hindered the movie’s theatrical success, as it readies audiences for a massive reveal. Still, there’s no denying that The Watchers‘ twist echoes the reveals from projects like Lady in the Water. Like other movies in M. Night Shyamalan’s catalog, The Watchers boasts many clues about its twist throughout, making it a solid watch-at-home choice for viewers who want to catch all the small details.

What Screen Rant has said about The Watchers:

Even when I started pondering about some of the gaping holes in the story, the strength of the cast’s performances kept me watching. Fanning et al. are clearly invested in their characters, and they do a fantastic job of selling their fears and traumas to us. We want them to make it out of the forest alive. When my mind began questioning them, Fouéré’s intensity lured me back in. When Campbell’s Ciara cried out for her husband, I felt her pain.
—Mae Abdulbaki,

The Watchers
Review

Why You Should Still Watch The Watchers After It Divided Audiences & Critics

The Celtic Folklore Thriller Suggests That The Director Has An Interesting Filmmaking Career Ahead Of Her

Put simply, The Watchers is better than its Rotten Tomatoes score might suggest. Using the source material as a jumping off point, Ishana Night Shyamalan puts a fun spin on the reinvigorated folk horror genre, creating a Celtic folklore thriller that’s sure to stand out — at least lore-wise — in a crowded field. The Watchers is very much a debut feature — a mixed bag that show’s promise for the director’s future endeavors. For some would-be audiences, the intrigue of watching Ishana Night Shyamalan’s first-ever movie might be enough to sell them on the flick.

Even though M. Night Shyamalan won the family’s 2024 movie battle, it’s clear that Ishana is drawing heavily from her father’s filmmaking toolkit. Folks who have watched M. Night’s career soar and stumble may be interested in seeing how Ishana uses her up-close education. Despite the movie’s obvious drawbacks, the young director is able to pull incredibly committed performances out of her actors, including seasoned greats like Fanning and Fouéré, who more than elevate the off-the-rails material. Ultimately, The Watchers‘ true score probably falls somewhere between how critics and audiences felt, making it a decent horror entry.