By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
M. Night Shyamalan is either one of the worst directors to ever step behind the camera or a creative genius, depending on who you ask and what film you’re talking about, but no one can argue with the success of his first film. The sixth sense. Now as he chooses a girl, Saleka Night, in Traphis younger daughter, Ishana Night, stepped behind the camera for her first feature film, The observerswhich recently debuted on Netflix. In keeping with family tradition, the film has divided the horror community, with opinions almost perfectly divided, but even detractors admit that Ishana possesses some of her father’s talent.
A captive cast
The horror film presents Dakota Fanning like Mina, an American woman traveling in Belfast, whose car breaks down in a spooky forest where an equally spooky woman tells her to come with her if she wants to live. The woman, Madeline (played by Olwen Fouere, recently appeared in Tarot), brings Mina to a bunker connected to The Coop, a structure with a one-way window that allows strange beings, called Watchers, to watch over them every night. The observers is a potential metaphor for streaming on Netflix or reality TV, but the strange beings, which cannot be captured in the sun, are clearly dangerous and have bad intentions for the trapped actors.
The humans, who in addition to Mina and Madeline include Georgina Campbell (known for Barbarous) as Ciara, and Irish actor Oliver Finnegan as Daniel, wander during the day but always return to the safety of the bunker and The Coop each evening to perform for the Watchers. With the limited cast and locations ranging from The Coop to the forest and another angle in the forest, it may seem like The observers was a low-budget Netflix original when in reality it was entirely self-financed by M.Night Shyamalan. It’s this fact that means that no matter how scary or terrifying the premise is, and there are some good scares to be found, some people have made up their minds about the film long before the film hits theaters.
The problem of nepotism cannot be avoided
Nepotism has become a major problem in Hollywood lately, even though it has existed in every industry since the dawn of time, but very few directors manage to get their first film fully financed by their father to the tune of 30 million dollars. This means that The observers faced an uphill battle for attention on its own merits, and while it wasn’t a big theatrical hit, it’s been in Netflix’s top ten since its debut on Australia’s largest streaming platform. world.
Long before it became a hit on Netflix, The observers was an AM Shine book, and in making the transition from page to screen, there were some major changes. For one thing, the book never describes what the Watchers look like, while the movie ultimately shows them in all their frightening glory, and strangely, it’s the book that sets up a sequel and not the movie. There are other changes as well, but in true Shyamalan fashion, there is a twist to the story.
The observers is currently available on Netflix, while you can watch M. Night’s Other Girl star in Trap on Max.. It’s undeniable that nepotism played a role in both projects, but it’s also true that there are far worse horrors like the aforementioned one today. Tarotand truly, both films are worth watching and judging for yourself.
