Cinema Scholars reviews Ishana Shyamalan’s feature directorial debut The Watchers with takeaways from a Q and A with the director following a special advance screening of the film. Warner Brothers will release The Watchers exclusively in theaters on June 7.
Introduction
A young woman loses her way in the woods as a mysterious creature closes in. A run-in with an old gypsy woman changes the course of a man’s life. A young couple moves into their country dream home only to discover their neighbor’s simple life isn’t what they expected. For as long as there has been storytelling, there have been tales of spooky folklore. Legends of monsters living among us in various forms in the past and even today are what fairytales are made of.
It’s no wonder then that one of the more prolific subgenres in cinema is folk horror. As chronicled in Keir-La Janisse’s exhaustive doc, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, the universal subject matter and mystical allure keeps the ever-growing catalog alive and well. Enter first-time feature director, Ishana Shymalan (yes, the progeny of M. Knight). With an effort worthy of Janisse’s inevitable Woodlands Part 2, Shyamalan dives deep into ancient Irish legend with The Watchers.
Synopsis
Mina is a young American expat living a low-key life in Ireland. Early on, It becomes clear that Mina is still suffering the aftermath of a traumatic childhood event. Avoiding calls from her twin sister, dressing in wigs, and posing as a dancer when out on the town, the young woman seems to be hiding from the world and even herself. When Mina ventures out of the city and into the endless forest of western Ireland, she gets stranded in the wooded vastness.
As if the isolation of the maze-like expanse isn’t frightening enough, Mina soon learns that she is not alone in her current predicament. Just before dark, a trio of people take her into their strange, monolithic “coop” in the middle of the forest. From here, the story only gets more unsettling as Mina slowly discovers the reasons for their captivity. As Mina plots her way out of this nightmare, she also yearns to escape the memories and heartache already haunting her.
Adapting The Novel
Shyamalan’s adaptation of The Watchers is beautifully executed with tight story progression, captivating imagery, and terrific performances. Based on the A.M. Shine novel of the same name, both the main narrative, as well as Mina’s backstory, unfold carefully in tandem. When asked about the intersection of the source material and the film, Shyamalan said,
“It was very important to me, I think, at the beginning of the process to honor what he had written in the book. Which was so beautiful and worked so well. So keeping the character structures, what was important about each of them, and the nature of how the story is revealed. So it was very much keeping that integrity and then just bringing and the writing extra sequences and things that I thought were more suited to a theater screen.”
Captivating Imagery
Vivid flashbacks from her past accentuate the dread of her present dilemma. The gorgeous yet ominous sweeping imagery of the endless Irish forest echoes Mina’s self-imposed isolation. These same visuals also hint at the dark mysteries that lie within the cover of the thick canopy.
The stark contrast between the coop and the surrounding lush greenness is a nod to man’s perceived control of nature and the environment. Though the concrete and steel of the compound eventually reveal many of the answers the story begs, the unnaturalness of the enclosure becomes both literal and figurative. Another fascinating part of the whole mysterious location.
Calling On Dad
As the daughter of notorious twist-maker M. Knight Shyamalan, who also produced The Watchers, Ishana didn’t have to look far for guidance to maintain that mysterious tone when needed. As far as working with her famous father, the younger Shyamalan had this to say about their dynamic.
“As any daughter and dad combo, I’m like, ‘Oh, can you just leave me alone? Just let me do this.’ But no, it’s super healthy. He very much has been there during the process to help me with the logistical elements. How are you going to come in on budget? How are you going to do this within the time frame of your schedule? Those elements were really the majority of our conversations where he was coming in as this logistical producer. And then I found myself going to him at moments where I didn’t know what to do. When I was at a loss or pushed to my limits and asked him, ‘How do you move forward in a situation like that?’ It’s a difficult thing, I think, to make a movie and to try and keep your head in the right place. So he’s very wonderful encouraging me in those situations.”
Finding Deeper Meaning
In one of the few lighter moments of the film, the group watches the only DVD in the building. Ironically, a season of a “big brother” style reality show called Lair of Love with contestants locked in a house together. Though these few scenes give the story a bit of levity, it’s obvious that the show mirrors the fishbowl life the roomies are living out in the middle of the woods. Could this narrative tool also be a nod to society’s obsession with watching the lives of other people on television? Metaphors like this abound throughout The Watchers making for a fascinating examination of humanity at large.
When quizzed about the reality show aspect of The Watchers and whether she’s a fan of such entertainment, Shyamalan admits,
“Oh my God, yes. I’m a huge Love Island UK girly. It was very much something I was watching as I wrote the script and felt like the uncanny relationship of what I was doing as a viewer. I was like, omg, I hate her, I love her. They’re so fake or whatever. Just thinking about those things. It felt so related to what the characters were experiencing and the funny satirical element that we could add. Yeah, it was wonderful. It was the first day that we shot. We shot all that Lair of Love stuff in a house with 10 actors and wrote five different scenes that they just improved off of. We had 14 cameras, big brother cameras set up there. And it was so fun. It made me question my whole career path because I had so much fun doing this. Should I be doing this thing instead?”
Casting The Lead
As Mina, Dakota Fanning exudes unwavering intensity as the troubled classic heroine of the story. With the wheels turning even in quiet moments, Fanning carries the fantastical story through each unlikely phase with ease. On casting the young screen veteran, Shyamalan shared,
“The character in the book is written as this very cool girl. She’s wearing leather jackets and smoking cigarettes and stuff. I just wanted to think about what the universal cool girl would be now. For whatever reason, Dakota was coming to mind. I think she exists so much as this person that’s been in our lives. I think, particularly our generation, we grew up with her. She always comes from a place of truth and stays within a very naturalistic performance. I thought that was a really cool thing in a space of a more surrealist movie and environment.”
Supporting Players
Supporting performances from the ensemble cast further propel the emerging narrative. Georgina Campbell’s Ciara provides the vulnerable humanity in the group with her sweet portrayal. All the while Olwen Fouéré injects resident forest expert Madeline with consummate seriousness and questionable sanity. Adding to this volatile dynamic, Oliver Finnegan gives great loose-cannon vibes as the impressionable Daniel. Regarding her supporting cast, Shyamalan talks about the relationships between such different characters.
“It was very much thinking about this alchemy of the four of them and this strange family dynamic that happens at the center of the movie. They’re such individuals, and each of them would hold very different qualities about them and different strengths. Together, they create this really specific, varied tapestry.”
Final Thoughts
Although The Watchers is a solid effort by Shyamalan overall, the film doesn’t check every box completely. Breaks in the story’s dogma and a few glaring questions plague the final takeaway. And while an unexpected fourth act with a needless kicker kinda sorta works, the whole ending feels a bit clunky.
Despite these shortcomings, Shyamalan delivers a captivating and fanciful story of fear and lore worthy of the classic folk horror catalog.
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