THE WATCHERS
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, Oliver Finnegan, Alistair Brammer, and John Lynch
Director: Ishana Night Shyamalan
KATIE
Ishana Night Shyamalan crafts an incredibly creepy atmosphere in her feature debut, The Watchers. The intriguing premise and gothic style drew me in each step of the way, complemented by chilling sound design and a great lead performance from Dakota Fanning. The script is sometimes uneven, utilising some very heavy-handed metaphors and clunky dialogue, but my enjoyment outweighs the problems I have with it, all of which are common for a first film. Overall, The Watchers is a very promising start for Ishana Night Shyamalan.
PRESTON
Ishana Night Shyamalan follows in her father’s (M. Night Shyamalan) footsteps with a successful first outing as a film director with The Watchers. The sound design is the star of this fantasy-thriller, bolstered by excellent supporting visual effects and cinematography. The plotline is handicapped by a few inflection points that confuse and frustrate, while the repetitive, conspicuous messaging is a bit too tenacious. However, the story borrowed from A.M. Shine’s novel is quite inventive and keeps you engaged. We even get the expected Shyamalan plot twist to boot. I think we can expect great things from Ishana Night Shyamalan in the future.
