The Watchers

In a year where sloppily made films like Late Night with the Devil and In a Violent Nature mysteriously outshine sleek, sophisticated works like The First Omen, horror is again in danger of being overrun by mediocrity.

Compounding the issue is none other than M. Night Shyamalan, who’s mired in another one of his legendary cold spells. But have no fear! His daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan’s feature directorial debut The Watchers is here to save the day — or at least advocate for exceptionally well-made genre fare.

Adapting A.M. Shine’s novel, the younger Shyamalan is clearly confident behind the camera, employing lush visuals as American expat Mina (Dakota Fanning) becomes trapped in the deep Irish woods yet finds refuge with fellow lost folks Ciara (Georgina Campbell, Barbarian), Madeline (Olwen Fouéré, The Northman), and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan, We Are Lady Parts).

Well, perhaps “refuge” isn’t the best word for a situation where they can’t leave the forest and instead spend nights in a one-room structure where unseen, dangerous entities play voyeur on the other side of a one-way mirror. All four individuals agree that they’re compromised existence is better than the death, and the terrifying sound design more than suggests that horrible things await beyond their safe confines.

Though there’s some clunkiness in the storytelling and how certain information is disseminated, it nearly all works thanks to the sustained mystery and strong performances by all four actors. As the audience’s stand-in, Fanning excels at conveying the mix of despair and hope that might befall most people stuck in this bizarre situation, and the more entrenched ways of her comrades make for a compelling and unpredictable shared environment.

Once the captors’ identity is revealed, one can understand why not every viewer might go along with the ask. But considering what M. Night Shyamalan has requested viewers to believe over the past 25 years, this is nothing by comparison, and his daughter’s blend of narrative and technical command while he struggles to achieve consistency suggests she’s currently the family’s more exciting voice.

Grade: B. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Warner Bros.)