M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, could redeem her father’s 20-year-old disappointing plot twist with her upcoming movie, The Watchers. Ishana’s father is known for adding unexpected elements to his stories just before they end, shedding a new light on the rest of the narrative. This iconic style has allowed the writer/director to enjoy a storied career, but some of his left turns aren’t that effective. One of M. Night Shyamalan’s most disappointing projects left viewers feeling deflated, despite the movie’s financial success. However, Ishana’s The Watchers trailer looks like the film may fix her father’s mistake.
The Watchers isn’t Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut, but it’s her first credit as the main director. Before her new film, Ishana’s directing credits consisted of serving as the second unit director as she led the cast of 2021’s Old, as well as six episodes of the psychological horror series, Servant – a project for which she also wrote 10 episodes. The Watchers continues Ishana’s streak of collaborating with her father, but this time M. Night Shyamalan is taking a step back as his daughter leads the charge for a spiritual successor to one of his own productions.
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Ishana Night Shyamalan’s The Watchers Can Fix The Village’s Failed Twist
The Village’s ending left a lot to be desired
The Watchers is based on a 2022 novel of the same name by A.M. Shine. The plot of the book follows a character called Mina, who will be played by Dakota Fanning in the movie adaptation. While M. Night Shyamalan has no previous affiliation with The Watchers, the plot shares some striking similarities with 2004’s The Village. The premises of the movies aren’t identical, but The Village also features characters being observed and confined to a certain area by mysterious figures. However, The Village‘s twist of the “creatures” actually being people was very underwhelming.
Shymalan’s 2004 failure could be vindicated by Ishana’s The Watchers, with the movie being in a position to execute a much more horrific reveal of its enigmatic onlookers. If so, and M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter achieves what her father has been trying to do for 20 years by creating a true horror movie, then viewers may finally be rewarded with a satisfying plot twist that hinges on fear rather than a resolved mystery.
How The Village’s Big Twist Ruined The Movie’s Potential
Ishana Night Shyamalan can improve upon her father’s efforts
While there are many reasons why M. Night Shyamalan’s plot twists are so divisive, the poor reaction to the reveal in The Village is easily explained – it wasn’t very good. The movie set up a very compelling premise, with the movie’s main attraction being the nature of the monsters lurking nearby. The ending of The Village came with the realization that the peculiar creatures were just the town elders in costumes. As a result, every scary element vanished at that moment. Hopefully, Ishana can avoid such a misguided twist and make The Watchers into a straight-up horror film.
The Watchers
Based on A.M. Shine’s novel, The Watchers follows Mina (Dakota Fanning), a twenty-eight-year-old artist stranded in the middle of a forest in Ireland. Her momentary relief when she finds shelter is shattered when she discovers other strangers in the same predicament – but they’re stalked each night by unseen creatures.
- Director
- Ishana Shyamalan
- Release Date
- June 14, 2024
- Cast
- Dakota Fanning
