The Watchers

I really enjoyed the novel by A. M. Shine and I am a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan so I was very excited for the movie adaptation of The Watchers by his daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan in her directorial debut.  I saw it last night and I liked it but I didn't love it.  Mina (Dakota Fanning) is a troubled American expat living in Ireland and working in a pet shop.  Her boss asks her to deliver a rare bird to a customer but her car breaks down in the middle of a large and menacing forest.  She decides to search for help and gets lost as night falls but, when she hears strange noises, a woman named Madeline (Olwen Fouéré) appears and she follows her into a concrete bunker also occupied by Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan).  The bunker has a large window which becomes a mirror at night and, as Madeline explains, the four of them must face it so the mysterious watchers outside can observe them.  Mina learns that the watchers retreat underground in burrows during the day so they are free to explore the forest as long as it is light but they must lock themselves in the bunker once night falls or risk an attack.  The forest is too large to leave during daylight hours and the one person who attempted it, Ciara's husband John (Alistair Brammer), hasn't returned for days.  However, Mina begins to doubt the existence of the watchers but, when she sees them and learns what they really are, she leads them in a desperate attempt to leave.  I loved the use of Irish folklore in the story but I think the screenplay suffers from too much exposition in the third act (there is a lot more in the movie than in the book and I don't think it is necessary).  I loved the depiction of the creatures and the visuals in the forest are very sinister, especially when the creatures are revealed, but I didn't feel a lot of tension when they attack or when the group escapes.  Fanning is great as a detached observer and Fouéré has tremendous screen presence but their performances, and those of the rest of the cast, are marred by clunky dialogue.  I didn't hate this but it was a bit of a mixed bag for me and I recommend waiting for it to stream.

Note:  I do think Ishana shows a lot of potential as a director but she should probably use a different screenwriter for her next project.