Divisive Horror Mystery Thriller Surprises In Netflix Top 10
M. Night Shyamalan is either one of the worst directors to ever get behind the camera, or a creative genius, depending on who you ask, and what movie you’re talking about, but no one can argue about the success of his first film The Sixth Sense. Now, while he’s casting one daughter, Saleka Night, in Trap, his younger daughter, Ishana Night, went behind the camera for her first feature film, The Watchers, which recently debuted on Netflix. In keeping with family tradition, the film has divided the horror community, with opinions almost perfectly split, but even the detractors admit Ishana has some of her dad’s talent.
A Captive Cast
The horror film features Dakota Fanning as Mina, an American traveling through Belfast, whose car breaks down in a creepy forest where an equally creepy woman tells her to come with her if she wants to live. The woman, Madeline (played by Olwen Fouere, who recently appeared in Tarot), brings Mina into a bunker connected to The Coop, a structure with a one-way window that allows the strange beings, called Watchers, to watch them every night. The Watchers is a potential metaphor for streaming on Netflix or binging reality television, but the strange beings, who can’t be caught in sunlight, are clearly dangerous and have bad intentions for the trapped cast.
The humans, which in addition to Mina and Madeline include Georgina Campbell (known for Barbarian) as Ciara, and Irish actor Oliver Finnegan as Daniel, wander during the day but always return to the safety of the bunker and The Coop each night to perform for the Watchers. With the limited cast and locations that range from The Coop to the forest and another angle in the forest, it might seem like The Watchers was a low-budget Netflix original when, in reality, it was entirely self-financed by M. Night Shyamalan. It’s that fact that means that no matter how creepy or terrifying the premise is, and there are a few good jump scares to be found, some people made up their minds about the film long before the movie hit theaters.
The Nepotism Issue Can’t Be Avoided
Nepotism has become a major issue in Hollywood lately, even though it’s been around in every industry since the dawn of time, but very few directors can get their first film to be bankrolled entirely by their dad to the tune of $30 million. That right there means that The Watchers faced an uphill battle to get attention on its own merits, and while it wasn’t a big theatrical hit, it’s been in Netflix’s top ten ever since it debuted on the world’s largest streaming platform.
Long before it became a success on Netflix, The Watchers was a book by A.M. Shine, and in making the transition from page to screen, there were some major changes. For one, the book never describes what the Watchers look like, while the movie eventually shows them in all their creepy glory, and strangely, it’s the book that sets up a sequel and not the movie. There are other changes as well, but in true Shyamalan fashion, there’s a twist to the story.
The Watchers is currently available on Netflix, while you can watch M. Night’s other daughter perform in Trap on Max. There’s no denying that nepotism had a hand in both projects, but it’s also true that there’s a lot worse horror out there today, such as the aforementioned Tarot, and truly, both films are worth your time to watch and judge for yourself.
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