The Watched (15)

Twenty-something artist Mina drives through the beautiful forests of Connemara in County Galway in the west of Ireland to deliver a parrot to a new home. En route, her car breaks down and curiously, all of her electronic devices cease to function. As she stumbles through the trees in search of help, darkness falls and bloodcurdling screams signal the approach of a terrifying threat. In the nick of time, Mina is ushered into a hut known as The Coop inhabited by Madeline, Ciara and Daniel.

LondonNet Film Review

The Watched (15) Film Review from LondonNet

I see soon-to-be-dead people. Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of The Sixth Sense filmmaker M Night Shyamalan, makes a composed directorial debut with a supernatural horror thriller based on AM Shine’s creepy novel The Watchers. Ignorance is bliss for this unsettling trek through an untamed forest in Ireland, rechristened The Watched for audiences in the UK and Ireland. The opening hour is the most satisfying stretch, kickstarted by an ill-fated escape bid from nocturnal creatures. These hideously disfigured predators linger in the shadows and their malevolent intent is shrouded in mystery…

Once Shyamalan’s script tumbles down a rabbit hole of macabre Irish folklore, greater narrative clarity usurps nail-biting anticipation with disappointment and strained credulity. A final reel reveal – an increasingly wearisome trademark of her father – is glaringly obvious but confidently executed. The small ensemble cast led by Dakota Fanning’s feisty but doom-laden 20-something reacts convincingly to a desperate plight with frayed nerves and spiralling paranoia. Four clear rules for survival are succinctly verbalised – do not turn your back to the mirror; do not open the door after dark; do not go near the burrows; always stay in the light – so we are braced for brutal punishment when they are inevitably broken.

Aspiring artist Mina (Fanning) works in a pet shop in Galway, estranged from her twin sister Lucy. She agrees to deliver one of the shop’s birds, a highly intelligent golden conure, to a zoo near Belfast. “You wouldn’t like me if you knew the real me,” Mina casually confides to the parrot during the drive to Belfast, which includes a long stretch down a single forest track. Enclosed by trees, Mina’s car suddenly breaks down and her electronic devices cease to function. “Try not to die!” helpfully squawks golden conure as Mina stumbles through undergrowth in search of help. Night falls and bloodcurdling caterwauls echo through the dark.

Mina is ushered into a secure hut known as The Coop by Madeline (Olwen Fouere), Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan). The strangers reveal Mina is now a plaything of terrifying subterranean creatures called the Watchers, which emerge at night to observe their movements through one wall made of glass. Madeline, Ciara and Daniel have been prisoners for months, perhaps years, but rebel Mina is determined to bend the rules during 10 hours of daylight.

Filmed on location in Ireland, The Watched is a suspenseful yarn that relies heavily on digital effects to tie together narrative threads into a neat, blood-stained bow. Shyamalan confidently orchestrates jump scares and even though tension dissipates significantly, the first-time filmmaker sustains a steady and brisk pace. I have a sixth sense this is an assured calling card and better, scarier things will follow.

– Kim Hu