The Watchers stars Dakota Fanning, and it’s a great reminder to watch her horror movie debut from 2005. The horror genre keeps going through a great run with original stories, sequels, reboots, and adaptations of preexisting works, and falling into the latter category is The Watchers. Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan in her directorial debut and based on the 2022 novel of the same name by A. M. Shine, The Watchers took the audience to Galway, Ireland, to meet Mina (Fanning), an American immigrant working in a pet shop tasked with delivering a parrot in Belfast.

On her way there, Mina’s car broke down and left her (and the parrot) stranded in a vast forest. Mina was rescued by an old woman named Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), who took her to a bunker-like shelter with a mirrored glass wall. There, Mina met two other occupants – Ciara and Daniel – and learned that there were monstrous creatures living in the forest and who observed them every night through the mirrored glass. Despite its strong performances, The Watchers hasn’t performed well with critics, but it’s still a great reminder to revisit Fanning’s horror movie debut from almost 20 years ago.

Dakota Fanning’s First Horror Movie Was 2005’s Hide And Seek

Hide And Seek Starred Dakota Fanning & Robert De Niro

Dakota Fanning’s acting career began in 2000 in small roles in different TV shows, such as ER and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and she made her big screen debut in the 2001 comedy Tomcats. However, Fanning’s first, proper role in a movie arrived that same year in I Am Sam, where she played Lucy, the daughter of the title character, played by Sean Penn. Fanning received a lot of praise for her role, effectively launching her career. Since then, Fanning has appeared in movies from different genres, and she made her horror debut in 2005 thanks to Hide and Seek.

Directed by John Polson and written by Ari Schlossberg, Hide and Seek tells the story of Dr. David Callaway (Robert De Niro) and his 9-year-old daughter Emily (Fanning), who, after the death of Emily’s mother from an apparent suicide, move to upstate New York to start over again. There, Emily makes an “imaginary” friend called “Charlie”, but this friendship begins to disturb David as more and more shocking stuff happens around them. Hide and Seek has a plot twist that wasn’t well-received and has become controversial as it deals with mental health.

Hide and Seek holds a 12% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 50% audience score, granting it a “rotten” label on both. However, it was a box office success, grossing $127 million against a $25 million budget. Despite its negative critical reception, Hide and Seek is a must-watch from Fanning’s filmography, and it was her first venture into the world of horror.

Dakota Fanning Is One Of The Best Parts Of Hide And Seek

Dakota Fanning’s Performance In Hide And Seek Stood Out

Hide and Seek was called by critics “illogical”, “derivative”, and even “silly”, but De Niro and Fanning’s performances received a lot of praise. Arguably, the best parts of Hide and Seek, and what kept the movie afloat, were De Niro and Fanning’s performances and their chemistry, but Fanning truly stood out. By the time Hide and Seek entered production, Fanning had established herself as one of the most promising young actresses and one who could bring drama, comedy, and tension to her performances, which truly showed in Hide and Seek.

Despite the many flaws in the script of Hide of Seek, Fanning brought the suspense and drama necessary to keep the audience’s attention and wonder about what was truly happening between Emily, David, and Charlie. Fanning’s performance was so powerful that she even overshadowed De Niro in different scenes throughout Hide and Seek, including during the big twist.

Hide And Seek Is An Even Better Watch After The Watchers

Dakota Fanning Has An Interesting Journey In The Horror Genre

Although she made thrillers and psychological dramas between Hide and Seek and The Watchers, the latter is Fanning’s proper return to horror. Although she was a main character in Hide and Seek and her performance stood out from the rest, the main character was, ultimately, De Niro’s David. The Watchers is Fanning’s first horror movie as the lead character, so watching Hide and Seek after The Watchers is an interesting and fun comparison.

Watching Hide and Seek after The Watchers also shows how much Fanning has grown as an actress and her acting range, as Emily and Mina, while having similarities like both carrying a lot of trauma (related to their families), had completely different contexts. The Watchers won’t be Fanning’s last horror venture as she has Bryan Bertino’s Vicious coming up in 2025, adding to her interesting history in the genre.