The Watchers
Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan
Mina är en 28-årig konstnär som blir strandsatt i en vidsträckt, orörd skog i västra Irland. När hon hittar skydd, blir hon omedvetet instängd tillsammans med tre främlingar som övervakas och jagas av mystiska varelser varje natt.
Where to Watch The Watchers
The Watchers Ratings & Reviews
- Paulo Coelho Alves13 augusti 2024It's big on mood but the premise feels a little too derivative of the show From and it really doesn't stick the landing.
- jackmeat8 februari 2026My quick rating - 6.1/10. I flipped on The Watchers, knowing it was the directorial debut of Ishana Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night Shyamalan. Thankfully, I didn't see a case of “nepo baby sleepwalking through a movie.” Her direction is confident, and she clearly understands pacing and atmosphere. Knowing how to let tension simmer rather than scream at you just works in this flick. The story is very much within familiar survival horror territory, but its setting and characters prevent it from feeling like something you’ve seen a dozen times already. Dakota Fanning plays Mina, and she is very good in the part. She's resourceful, believable, and avoids the horror movie trope of people forgetting how to walk when something scary happens. The rest of the cast - Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan, Olwen Fouere - round out the trapped, all bringing just enough character to the film that I cared, well, a little, which of them would survive when things inevitably went wrong. One of the film’s biggest strengths is the setting. That Irish forest is gorgeous. You might even forget it’s actively trying to kill everyone. Cinematographer Eli Arenson does some nice work, capturing sweeping shots that make the wilderness feel both magical and deeply unsettling. The constant play between light and shadow gives The Watchers a moody, fairy-tale-gone-wrong vibe that works really well. Of course, this being a Shyamalan-adjacent project, there’s a twist. And yes, you’ll probably see it coming. That’s the downside of carrying that last name. Expectations are sky-high. The twist isn’t bad, it just doesn’t hit with the “oh damn” energy needed to push the movie into something great. It lands more in “yeah, that was my guess” territory, which is a bit of a letdown after such a strong buildup. The horror itself is handled with a pretty gentle touch. This is less of a nightmare and more eerie bedtime story, making it surprisingly family-friendly. That restraint helps the atmosphere, but us hardcore horror fans definitely wanted Shyamalan to take a bloodier bite. Still, the tension is steady, and I never found myself losing interest. In the end, The Watchers is a visually striking, well-acted debut that shows real promise. It doesn’t fully capitalize on its concept, but it’s engaging and original. A solid launching point for Ishana Shyamalan’s career in my eyes. And if you’re picking up on some extra meaning behind the whole “everyone is watching” vibe…Yeah, I seriously doubt that was a social mistake.
- Cappy June1 november 2025Good movie. Longer than expected, had to get up and stretch my legs. Cat fell asleep. Recommended for a long flight
- Larry Yates31 oktober 2025Slower than I expected but a good story. Enjoyed it.
- Daniel Schmid16 oktober 2025A mystery story which conveys dread throughout the movie. The scenery is beautiful, the creatures are scary but interesting, the characters are interesting, and the ending is so wonderful, it's really a beautiful piece of art. Definitely a recommendation.
- Daniel Gustavsson30 mars 2025It's a tough one to review. On one hand it's kind of creative, and on the other hand it's kind of awful. It has some nice ideas but executes on them poorly. Wasted potential nonetheless.
- Todd Hay17 augusti 2024I enjoyed it. Interesting premise, did keep you guessing. It is an M. Knight movie, so it does have its twists, but not to the same degree as his other work. End was a bit abrupt, and disappointing- but over all an enjoyable few hours.
- Neon Ghloes24 september 2025Those gawdamn fairies! Stay off my lawn!
- MetroidTalon22 augusti 2025The Watchers opens with promise but fades fast. The setup hints at mystery and tension, but the execution is sluggish and scattered. Characters make baffling choices, the lore feels undercooked, and the scares never land with impact. There’s atmosphere and potential in the concept, but the film keeps circling without ever finding a satisfying point. A slow spiral of wasted ideas that leaves more frustration than fear.
- cyberbillp21 februari 2025This actually got better the longer you watch it. I liked the folklore, I had no clue going in, and it really redeemed itself with a great ending. I'll probably watch this again. 3.5 stars from me, which is pretty good. Solid enjoyable film.
- touch_tone12 januari 2025It was pretty good honestly.
- tellum19 augusti 2025The premise was executed in a real clumsy way, to the point that you end up having way too many questions, and when one of them is actually answered it just gives you many more questions.
- Kevin Ward1 juli 2025The Watchers is a solid debut feature with some striking visuals and some moments of genuine intrigue even if the script gets bogged down by frustrating character decisions and exposition dumps by the end. Dakota Fanning stars as Mina in search of her estranged sister, but she finds herself in a eerie forest in Ireland unable to find her way out. She happens across Madeleine (Olwen Fouéré), Ciara (Georgina Campbell), and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan), all similarly stranded in the wood, but having taken refuge in an isolated room with a one-way mirror where unknown entities come to watch them when the sun goes down. As strange as the setup is, I was very much enjoying the film. The premise felt ripe for a thematic exploration of mimicry, voyeurism, and performative aspects of identity. The group of strangers have to essentially perform each night for this unseen audience but the only real instruction is to be themselves. Mina doesn’t seem to have a real sense of who she actually is. We see flashes of her life in which she liked to dress up in wig and makeup and just go out on the town as someone else, perhaps as a counter to the fact that she has a twin sister, a literal copy of her own genetic makeup, somewhere out in the world. How much of our own identity is simply copying what we see in others? Stuck in “the coop” as the group has come to refer to their refuge, they do have access to a television and a copy of a Big Brother style reality show Love Island (season 3) that they watch over and over. This voyeurism heavily mirrors their own situation which has the unknown watchers peering in on their lives every evening. It’s when we begin to find out more about the watchers that the film takes a bit of a turn and instead of going deeper into the thematics, it gets a little too bogged down in establishing the lore of these creatures. Steeped heavily in Irish folklore of faeries and changelings, the film spends much of the final act attempting to explain this world and its inhabitants. Obviously, the idea of changelings still lends itself to the thematic ideas of identity and mimicry, but by the end this aspect seems kind of completely lost. Still, I mostly enjoyed this film. I think Ishana shows significant promise as a director. I had actually watched all of the Apple TV series Servant and I believe she directed several episodes. I will be curious to see what she has up next.
- Mr. D7 februari 2025I enjoyed, likely because of the sound more so than the movie. It's a one trick pony who never really goes anywhere.
- Casper Hørning15 oktober 2024Slow
The Watchers Trivia
The Watchers was released on 5 juni 2024.
The Watchers was directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan.
The Watchers has a runtime of 1h 42m.
The Watchers was produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan, Nimitt Mankad.
Mina är en 28-årig konstnär som blir strandsatt i en vidsträckt, orörd skog i västra Irland. När hon hittar skydd, blir hon omedvetet instängd tillsammans med tre främlingar som övervakas och jagas av mystiska varelser varje natt.
The key characters in The Watchers are Mina / Lucy (Dakota Fanning), Ciara (Georgina Campbell), Madeline (Olwen Fouéré).
The Watchers is rated 15.
The Watchers is a Fantasy, Skräck, Mystik film.
The Watchers has an audience rating of 5 out of 10.
The Watchers had a budget of 30 mn US$.
The Watchers has made 51,1 mn US$ at the box office.