The Watchers (2024) suffers from a distinct lack of enigma. The opening act is intriguing enough but this initial promise gradually dissipates, gets diluted by the desire to explain too much.
Mina (Dakota Fanning) is haunted by the death of her mother in a car accident. Running from the trauma, she flees her home in the States, landing in the west of Ireland, where she works in a pet shop.
When a pet bird needs delivering to a customer in Belfast, Mina agrees to drive it there. Her journey starts on the winding roads of the Irish countryside, then inexplicably goes off-road, taking her into the depths of a dark forest. When the car breaks down, all the electronics, including her phone, flicker and die, she has no choice but to start walking.
Alone, with only the bird for company, it’s not long before the shadows are closing in and she’s lost, sure she’s being stalked by something. Then, in what might be the best image of the film, a door in the forest opens and a white-haired woman gives Mina an ultimatum. She has a count of five to get inside before the door is closed and she’s alone, victim to whatever’s out there. Mina’s frantic sprint, the door locking, is followed by something monstrous slamming into the door, and skittering over a glass fronted bunker, the Coop.
Out of the frying pan and into the fish bowl, Mina becomes one of four subjects, watched by something malevolent in the trees. Trapped by the forest, it’s just too far to walk out, the mysterious creatures return each night to watch them. There’s a certain irony in this dynamic, that has more to do with punishment than curiosity. And it’s the unpicking of this mystery that gradually overwhelms the story. Writer director Ishana Shyamalan, M. Night’s daughter, feels it’s necessary to explain everything. You don’t have to. I would’ve enjoyed it more if I’d joined the dots, rather than having the shape drawn for me.
