The Watchers (2024)

The Watchers (2024) aims to blend Irish folklore with psychological horror, but its execution leaves much to be desired. The movie presents an intriguing premise of mystical fairy creatures inhabiting a forest that traps and transforms humans, yet it falters in delivering a cohesive and compelling narrative.

Promising Start, Disappointing Follow-Through

The Watchers (2024): A Missed Opportunity to Captivate

Initially, the story captures interest with its mysterious setting and eerie atmosphere. However, midway through, it devolves into a sequence of disconnected hooks—scenes designed to pique curiosity without offering substantive plot development. Instead of building an affinity with its characters or deepening its themes, the movie relies heavily on superficial suspense that quickly wears thin.

Lack of Character Depth

One glaring issue is the lack of emotional investment in the characters. Despite following Mina, the main protagonist, her struggles fail to resonate deeper or have a better impact. Even the parrot she carries—arguably the most endearing element—elicits more concern than the human characters, such as Daniel who has the potential to play a more mysterious figure. This emotional detachment undermines the film’s ability to engage viewers.

Plot Holes and Unexplained Elements

The movie is riddled with unresolved questions and inconsistencies:

• The Coop Setup: The coop, where several characters are confined, resembles a staged living room with a sofa, table, TV, some chairs, and a gramophone. Despite months of entrapment away from a water source, the characters appear well-groomed and dressed, and Ciara is too "normal," all of which strains credibility.

• Random Props: Items given specific screen time like a bike or newspaper dated April 1992, and a caged parrot warrant expansion and remain unexplored. A certain DVD and other elements throughout the film feel underdone. If items or certain shots are given screen time, much begs for elaboration and could use more substance, especially if they're meant to be meaningful plot devices.

• Madeline’s Arc: Madeline, [spoiler alert] who transitions from human to half-watcher, remains a narrative enigma that feels thin and incomplete. Her motives, transformation, and relationship with her husband, the professor, are barely touched upon.

Weak Use of Folklore

The film loosely incorporates Irish folklore but fails to harness its rich potential. The idea of "the watchers" as malevolent forest beings is intriguing but the film's delivery is sparse and frustratingly barebones. The folklore’s connection to the story’s horror elements is tenuous, and its late introduction diminishes its impact.

Cinematic Shortcomings

Visually, other than the very well-lit coop in the middle of the forest with steel doors, the movie disappoints. The cinematography lacks the haunting beauty expected in a horror film, and overemphasizing certain props or the stage-like setting of the coop without more convincing context adds to the banality. The "mirror as a window" motif, meant to explore themes of self-duplication and introspection, has potential but is repetitive and remains at a surface level.

Frustrating Conclusion

The ending compounds the film’s flaws. Mina unites her twin sister, who happens to have two sons that look like twins (the redundancy at this point feels juvenile,) but this revelation at the end feels contrived and unearned. The titular "watchers" are never fully explored, leaving their purpose and menace ambiguous. The caged parrot, which seems to be a significant element from the beginning and throughout the movie, (as Mina has it with her almost all the time,) has somehow disappeared without explanation. The final scenes do little to tie the narrative threads together, or at least the significant parts, resulting in an ending that leaves the viewer dispirited or unconvinced.

Verdict: A Letdown

The Watchers fails to deliver on its promise. Its lack of character development, plot coherence, and effective use of folklore makes it a missed opportunity. While the premise had potential, the execution fell flat, leaving viewers with more questions (and not in the way that storytellers would want) than answers and little to appreciate.

Recommendation: Skip this film. It’s an underwhelming attempt at blending folklore and horror, offering neither genuine scares nor fulfilling storytelling.