Going into this film confused over the title, leaving the theater more than satisfied. That is my experience with Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut ‘THE WATCHERS’. The aspect of great horror seems to run in the family Shyamalan blood.

Considerably large shoes to fill, M. Night Shyamalan is a well-known horror director. But his daughter is here to show that the father isn’t the only one able to wield the director’s chair. ‘THE WATCHERS’ is a fantastic film. It exceeded my expectations by a mile. This could have been because I had it mixed up with another new release ‘THE STRANGERS’. But that is a story for later in June.

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To be able to watch a film, where every minute feels worthwhile. That is the ultimate experience. As to my surprise this film was one of those projects. Not even once, did I think of how much time had passed in the theater. 1 hour and 40-isch minutes flew by quickly. This is thanks to a solid execution of concept. Sure, the film spends a lot of its time in a forest where the main characters are trapped. If I think back on, maybe the environments wasn’t the most exciting. But during my time in the theater, I didn’t have that feeling at all. My focus was not on the forest, but more so on the story.

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Because the story I think is one of the highlights of this directorial debut. It is not my favorite of all time, but it is well written and intriguing. A basic concept done right. A film like this perfectly suits me, especially when it comes to an exponential creature reveal as I’d like to call it. Not showing to much of the enemy, but slowly revealing it. Films where we never get to see the danger in its full glory are not really my cup of tea. The same goes for films where we get to see the danger in the promotional material.

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As I just mentioned, the time flew by fast in this film. This should of course mean the film is great. Because that is true, the film is not perfect, but indeed ‘great’. It had some solid VFX, and I really liked certain shots and the final creature reveal. A perfect blend of folklore and horror.

When it comes to pacing the film was quite aware of its time spent in different scenes. Nothing felt too long or to abrupt. Maybe the ‘running’ scenes looked a bit funky, but that is about it. It was only towards the end that the film felt a little bit stretched out. But you know what, I didn’t mind it, because the ending was solid. As for the opening… it could have been better. It did its job, but I didn’t feel as excited about it as the ending. Nonetheless, after the initial opening scene, it gets more interesting pretty fast.

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In regards of acting, I think most of the actors/actresses gave sturdy performances, didn’t notice anything that felt false or abruptly off. Some believable performances are what you will be treated to. Not really Oscar winning, but still exceptionally great. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, and Oliver Finnegan among others. Regarding this film, it’s not perfect, but I really can’t find any big flaws, honestly.

Ishana Night Shyamalan’s ‘THE WATCHERS’ is not a frightening film; I can’t really say that either. However, it is quite a solid movie in its complete form. A mysterious story, some great visuals, and a bunch of final act twists, what more could you want? This film was much appreciated and will land at a rating of:

RATING: 4,5/5