The Watchers | Film Review

 

When Mina (Dakota Fanning) gets lost in the forest, she is taken in by three strangers who are stalked every night by mysterious creatures that watch their every move.

I remember hearing good things about this film when it first came out, and even though the reviews are now a lot more mixed, I was looking forward to seeing it.

I liked it, while also understanding why the reviews are mixed.

For a start, the opening sequence felt a bit too long. And as we get into the story and understand exactly what's happening, I don't really think it helped to get the audience invested in the story.

And in keeping with this, the whole film felt a bit slow. And that doesn't mean it was bad or boring, but everything that happened took a really long time to happen.

While the concept, and film itself, is unique and intriguing, it's also weird. I never knew what to make of the story or characters (including the main character), and while ambiguity can be good for a film, I don't know if it worked well here.

But the thing about having ambiguous characters is that the film needs to be really plot-driven to keep things interesting, and this one was. If any other characters were slotted into these positions the film would probably be as interesting as it was here because the plot, and the mysterious creatures, are the interesting things, not the characters.

The imagery was really unique and created really well, especially the 'watchers'.

And while the events leading up to the end of the film were a bit predictable, it was still enjoyable to watch. The ending in particular was a lot better than I thought it would be.

Overall, this was a really ambitious directorial debut. While I wasn't completely invested in the characters, I thought the concept of the story was great, and it was all in all a really enjoyable watch.

6.5/10