The Watchers has a horror film pedigree that is undeniable. Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and produced by her father, M. Night Shyamalan, The Watchers stars Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan and Olwen Fouéré. It’s a film full of mystery and suspense that makes full use of the terror that comes from the feeling of a looming threat right around the corner. It’s that anxiety and eeriness that The Watchers revels in.
Recently, Senior Writer Elijah Isaiah Johnson sat down with Ishana Night Shyamalan and Georgina Campbell, who plays the character Ciara in the film. They talked about the original source material, a novel of the same name by A.M. Shine, the elements of horror that they enjoy and their personal experiences with the supernatural.
Shyamalan talked about how she was inspired to adapt the book, saying that the mystery elements of the story appealed to her.
“It was just a book that I fell in love with. When I read it, it was so beautifully structured and had all this wonderful mystery, and it was very, very scary to me. And I just felt that what I was holding, what I was reading, was very rare, and so I felt that it would be an honor to replicate that in the film format,” Shyamalan said.
Considering her father’s status as one of the most established horror film directors and writers of all time, Shyamalan is well versed in the horror genre. She talked about the flexibility of horror, and how it can be used to tell different kinds of stories.
“I think a horror can be so many different things. It’s really, to me, the use of fear as a tool to address different things and talk about different emotions. So I think it can be very many different things,” Shyamalan said. “What I’ve learned from the horror movies that I love, is that it’s really about the expectation of seeing something that creates a really scary environment. So I really try to play with that idea of drawing out the unease and the fear or seeing something very scary for the majority of the movie.”
With the tools of horror at her disposal, Shyamalan sought out to tell a story that resonates with her personally. She explained that while it is a scary film, the essential story of The Watchers is about human connection.
“For me, Mina’s [Dakota Fanning] journey is very much about someone who has a difficult time connecting to other people. And that’s very much something I think I was feeling at that time, and I think a lot of people feel in this world at this moment. So it’s ultimately a journey of that, where she sort of learns to connect with other people and finds healing through that,” Shyamalan said.
For Georgina Campbell, this project was primarily about the connection that she felt with Shyamalan, as well as the unique story.
“It started with the script. I got sent the script and I loved it. I really enjoyed reading it. It’s such a page turner, and you’re trying to figure out what’s going on and it just felt very suspenseful,” Campbell said. “And then I had a meeting with Ishana and I really loved her. She’s so intelligent and so lovely, and I just immediately felt like this is someone I would love to work with. Which is half the battle. Sometimes you go and do a job and you don’t necessarily click in that way, but with Ishana, it felt immediate, like ‘Oh I really want to work with you.'”
The veteran actress, who has appeared in projects like The Barbarian and Black Mirror, shared her personal love for the horror genre.
“I loved Get Out. That was such a fantastic horror movie. There’s a British film called Ghost Stories, which I absolutely love. I actually went to see it three times in cinema in like two weeks, which is a bit much. I really loved that movie. It’s one of those that have a really good twist in the ending, you don’t see it coming. I feel like horror movies where they really get that landing of a really good twist at the end, where something happens and you’re completely gobsmacked is great,” Campbell said.
Check out our full conversations with Shyamalan and Campbell and don’t miss The Watchers, June 14, 2024 in theaters.
About The Watchers:
From producer M. Night Shyamalan comes “The Watchers,” written for the screen and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and based on the novel by A.M. Shine. The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
You can’t see them, but they see everything.
“The Watchers” stars Dakota Fanning (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Ocean’s Eight”), Georgina Campbell (“Barbarian,” “Suspicion”), Oliver Finnegan (“Creeped Out,” “Outlander”) and Olwen Fouere (“The Northman,” “The Tourist”). The film is produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan and Nimitt Mankad. The executive producers are Jo Homewood and Stephen Dembitzer.
Joining writer/director Shyamalan behind-the-camera are director of photography Eli Arenson (“Lamb,” “Hospitality”), production designer Ferdia Murphy (“Lola,” “Finding You”), editor Job ter Burg (“Benedetta,” “Elle”) and costume design by Frank Gallacher (“Sebastian,” “Aftersun”). The music is by Abel Korzeniowski (“Till,” “The Nun”).
New Line Cinema presents “The Watchers,” set to open in theaters internationally beginning 12 June 2024 and in North America on June 14, 2024; it will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
