The Watchers (2024) Review + Book Discussion

The Watchers is a directorial debut from Ishana Shyamalan, how did she live up to her namesake?

Intro 00:00
Spoilers 12:24

[ericxplosion]

the rug scene bothered me. I'm like "really? you've been here for months."

[iceicejennie]

I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t very scary at all, but the visuals were gorgeous and I really liked the plot and how mystical it turned out to be. Also, Dakota is one of my all time faves so seeing her back in horror was amazing. And I loved the climax in the house!

[keananbradley]

Watching this while in Ireland and living in the countryside in Ireland was a fun experience

[weatherby]

I totally agree that this movie had a lot of potential. I feel like there were a lot of interesting symbols/themes (bird in a cage, humans destroying the environment, the parallels between the reality show and being watched in the coop) but they were underutilized and went nowhere. I also felt like some choices were silly like her walking into the forest yelling after her car broke down or them never looking under that rug. It was a fine movie but I hope her future projects come together better.

[grythely]

reviews like this are such great counterweights to hot takes and really make me appreciate your honesty! on a purely selfish note i appreciate knowing what movies fall into the "by no means a masterpiece but a fine time with nothing that will wreck your day" bucket because that means i can go see it on a random day after work and not feel like i'm excluding my friends lol. looking forward to your horror icks!

[steadystudying]

I never read the book but i really thought the twist had something to do with the main character as she would mimic her mom, her sister's recording etc. i thought maybe she would use this to 'distract' or convince a watcher that she too was a watcher, idk lol. The movie had great shots but i felt the story dragged a bit and as you said, felt rushed at the end.

Also, i was rolling my eyes at the whole half human half faerie thing, "our kinds loved each other so don't kill me" and then madeleine gets her wings??? It was giving ghost redeems themself and now can pass into thr afterlife 😂

[rebeccadodd]

I wasn't particularly mad or upset about the movie, but I left the cinema with just a lot of questions and a feeling of wanting more. I think part of what detracted from the viewing experience for me (SPOILERS) was that I didn't really feel threatened by the Watchers. I was curious, and wanted the main group to be able to escape, but the fact that they could walk around all day, and that Mina immediately broke almost every 'rule' without much happening, it meant I wasn't really on the edge of my seat tense. At one point Mina and Madeleine are out after dark, in the middle of the Watchers, and they just go unnoticed. Even the professor was able to capture one and hold it hostage, making them feel pretty easy to outsmart. If anything it was the forest that was the biggest threat, and I'm still not sure whether the disorientation and time changes had anything to do with the Watchers themselves, or if that was just magic in the forest in general.

[bryanc]

100% agree with you about both the film and the book just being okay. Definitely preferred the unsettling ending in the book though. Ishana has a lot of potential. I'd like to see her direct an original story

[questionthat]

Immediately noticed that Billy the Puppet wasn't in his usual spot on the shelf and became convinced he was going to jump out at you from nowhere. Made for an appropriately tense viewing experience.

[WeWatchedThat]

The first half of the movie, kept us glued to the chair and very interested to see what happens. We also didn't read the book.
But then, when it got more into the folklore and reveled more and more...it got a little boring and it lost that mystery that the movie had and it shouldn't have happened.

[lloydhendric]

In Ireland this movie is called The Watched, for some reason.

[spiderparades]

I feel so stupid for not realizing it was based off the book 'The Watchers', lol. I gave that book 4/5 stars, I throughly enjoyed it and enjoyed the concept. I read it last year without knowing it was becoming a movie! Thank you for your insights. Sad to hear it wasn't fantastic, but also nice to have a movie that's just a decent movie. Not everything has to be life changing!

[kell_checks_in]

I like the combination of book and movie reviews in this video. I wouldn't mind seeing this again, including with some older films/books.

[kell_checks_in]

SPOILER





A better way to have handled the trap door: when Mina arrives, the rest of the group have already discovered it, but because the metal edge is flush with the floor they haven't been able to lift it. Danny has wanted to bang on it to try to break through or something, but the others continually persuade him to not do so because it would either attract the watchers attention or possibly leave an opening for them to enter the coop. When it all hits the fan later, then everyone is united in banging on the metal to try to break through and the rest of the action would proceed as it did in the film.

[mistress_mercury]

I enjoyed this movie. I'm a fan of fantasy horror. It gave me Men, A Quiet Place, Bird Box vibes

[Stirghetti]

The watchers in the tapestry in the professor's office in the movie looked kinda like greys. It felt like this movie was way too unsure what it wanted to expand on or not and had too many crumbs, like the fact the main character is a twin in a movie about changelings but that just isn't? Handled or addressed or used at all?

[wiktoriagrochowiecka]

I just watched it 2 days ago and personally I loved it, but not gonna lie, the internal hype of [Spoiler warning]














the internal hype of FAERIE HORROR might have overrode all of my other thoughts lol

[BantzFerdinand]

I feel like this was a beautifully shot movie that just didn't have the right script

[FloggingMicah]

Hopping to hear your thoughts on “I saw the TV glow”. The first video of yours I ever watched was your opinion of “We’re all going to the world’s fair”.

[stainedglasspixie]

"Purple Prose" is the phrase I think you're looking for in the writing.