I tried really hard to avoid using the old adage, “the acorn doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” But damn, if it isn’t an accurate assessment of The Watchers, which is the directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan (who produced).
That isn’t always a bad thing. After all, Brandon Cronenberg has followed in his demented dad’s footsteps and directed a couple of wonderfully twisted tales that wouldn’t be out-of-place in the ol’ man’s filmography. Though based on a novel, The Watchers looks, plays and unfolds very much like an M. Night Shyamalan film…
…more accurately, like a few of those Shyamalan films he cranked out after some of the luster had worn off his reputation. Similar to those, The Watchers begins well, with morose Mina (Dakota Fanning) still brooding over the death of her mother 15 years earlier. An American living and working in Ireland, she’s asked to deliver an exotic bird to a zoo, but gets stranded in a gloomy forest with a dark history…which is provided in a narrated prologue and indicative of the film’s biggest problem (more on that in a minute).
As darkness approaches, Mini runs into an old woman named Madeline (Olwen Fouere), who urgently ushers her into a building before it’s too late. Sealed inside, she meets two others, Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan). It’s at this point Madeline informs Mini that the structure is called the Coop and four of them are trapped inside by the Watchers, who observe them all night - every night - through a two-way mirrored window.
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| The Unusual Suspects. |
Here’s the biggest problem…most of the plot points and revelations are offered through exposition, first from Madeline, then the video diary of a professor who came to learn about the Watchers. Throughout the entire movie, we’re told a lot more than we’re shown, undermining much of the tension. We know almost everything about these creatures before we even get a good look at one. What’s the fun in that? What's wrong with keeping some things a mystery?
That same approach tarnished some of Dad’s movies, as well…too much telling, not enough showing. From a technical standpoint, The Watchers is pretty solid, with a gloomy overall aesthetic and interesting production design (the Coop is pretty neat). It’s ultimately not enough to overcome the narrative shortcomings, including an underwhelming, protracted and equally talky conclusion. But with this film out of the way, now maybe Ishana Night Shyamalan can sharpen her storytelling skills.
EXTRA KIBBLES
FEATURETTES - Welcome to the Show: The Making of The Watchers features interviews with director Ishana Night Shyamalan, producer M. Night Shyamalan (dear ol’ dad) and others; Creating the Watchers goes into the creature design; Constructing the Coop is about production design, including the cell-like structure; Ainriochtan and the Irish Fairy Folklore has the some of the cast & crew discussing some of the myths that inspired the story.
DELETED SCENE - “Lair of Love” is the faux reality show Mina watches while imprisoned. This is a 10 minute clip of the s-called show…and the most entertaining bonus feature of the bunch.
DIGITAL COPY
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