By Liam Gaughan
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M. Night Shyamalan is certainly one of the most recognizable filmmakers of his generation, as films like The Sixth Sense and Split proved that he could tell intelligent genre stories with shocking plot twists. It should come as no surprise that his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, has also become a prominent filmmaker in her own right. After directing several episodes of the Apple TV+ horror series Servant, Shyamalan made her feature film debut with the supernatural horror film The Watchers.
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by A.M. Shine, The Watchers centers on the young woman Mina (Dakota Fanning), who becomes lost in the woods in western Ireland. After being reduced by three enigmatic strangers, Mina learns about a group of creatures that stalk the forest at night. The Watchers contains the type of intrigue, suspense, and scares that are well suited for fans of the supernatural horror genre. Those who enjoyed The Watchers' brand of horror will surely like these other movies that share similar themes and make for excellent double features.
10 ‘Lost Highway’ (1997)
Directed by David Lynch
A key theme in The Watchers is that of subjective reality; as Mina spends more time in captivity, she begins to have skepticism about how much of what she is seeing is actually real. Lost Highway is an excellent psychosexual thriller that examines the fungible nature of reality. Hailing from the brilliant surrealist filmmaker David Lynch, Lost Highway centers on a jazz player (Bill Pullman) as he discovers a mysterious underground nightclub and falls in love with an enigmatic femme fatale (Patrica Arquette).
Both Shyamalan and Lynch understand the importance of isolating the audience’s knowledge of the situation, thus creating more suspense. The Watchers and Lost Highway end on a somewhat ambiguous note, leaving it up to the viewers to interpret what they just witnessed. This is bound to keep the conversation going long after the credits have closed.
Lost Highway
R
Drama
Mystery
Thriller
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
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Not available
- Release Date
- January 15, 1997
- Cast
- Bill Pullman , Patricia Arquette , John Roselius , Louis Eppolito , Jenna Maetlind , michael massee
- Runtime
- 134 minutes
- Writers
- David Lynch , Barry Gifford
9 ‘Signs’ (2002)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
In her directorial debut, Ishana Shyamalan showed many stylistic similarities with the work of her father, particularly his 2002 science fiction thriller Signs. Although its plot twist has become somewhat controversial in the subsequent decades, Signs is easily one of the most emotionally satisfying films of Shyamalan’s career. The film centers on a former priest (Mel Gibson) who must protect his family during an invasion by enigmatic alien creatures while wrestling with complex feelings about his faith.
Signs and The Watchers succeed by avoiding many jump scares or moments of visual spectacle, which heightens the viewers’ sense of paranoia and anxiety. Although both films are deeply committed to developing a dense mythology surrounding their supernatural storylines, they’re also intimate character dramas about the essence of familial tragedy and the importance of overcoming loss.
8 ‘Coraline’ (2009)
Directed by Henry Selick
Prior to starring in The Watchers, Fanning first ventured into the horror genre by voicing the titular character in Henry Selick’s classic stop-motion film Coraline. Based on Neil Gaiman's eponymous acclaimed novel, Coraline explores a hidden supernatural world in a way that is very similar to The Watchers. While The Watchers examines Nina's wrestling with her adult responsibilities, Coraline uses its dark fantasy themes to serve as a parallel to a coming-of-age story.
Both films feature spectacular visual horror motifs. Furthermore, The Watchers and Coraline prove why Fanning is one of the defining scream queens of the generation. By choosing intelligent, stylistically distinct horror projects from unique filmmakers, Fanning has proven to be worthy of the legacy of horror icons like Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Heather Langenkamp, and Neve Campbell.
Coraline
PG
Animation
Family
Fantasy
Drama
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- February 6, 2009
- Cast
- Dakota Fanning , Teri Hatcher , Jennifer Saunders , Dawn French , Keith David , John Hodgman
- Runtime
- 100 minutes
- Writers
- Henry Selick , Neil Gaiman
7 ‘Black Swan’ (2010)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Black Swan is one of the few horror movies ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and certainly one of the strongest films in Darren Aronofsky’s filmography. Black Swan focuses on the ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman), who is forced to wrestle with the dark side of her personality when she is cast in a production of Swan Lake.
The Watchers and Black Swan deal with the concept of doppelgangers and use them as a means of unpacking a character’s psychology. As with Mina in The Watchers, Nina begins to lose sight of her reality as she becomes further entrenched in her obsessions. Portman went through extensive training in Black Swan, learning ballet and taking an intense workout regime. The result was a transfixing yet tragic performance that won her the first Oscar for Best Actress in her career.
Black Swan
R
Horror
Psychological
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
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Not available
- Release Date
- December 3, 2010
- Cast
- Natalie Portman , Mila Kunis , Vincent Cassel , Barbara Hershey , Winona Ryder , Benjamin Millepied
- Runtime
- 110
- Writers
- Mark Heyman , Andres Heinz , John J. McLaughlin
6 ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ (2016)
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg
The Watchers isn’t just a great supernatural horror film but a really intense thriller about the perils of isolation. 10 Cloverfield Lane was an inventive continuation of the Cloverfield universe that examined a nightmarish lockdown scenario. The film follows the young woman Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who becomes trapped in a bunker by an enigmatic stranger (John Goodman) after reports of an alien invasion in New York City emerge. As she gathers evidence about her abductor, Michelle must fight her way out.
The Watchers and 10 Cloverfield Lane intertwine suspense and mystery to take a unique spin on their genres. While each film ends with an action-packed climax, they are at their most successful when focusing on the main characters trying to pool their resources in order to survive. Both films benefit from the inspiring final girl performances at their center, Fanning elevating The Watchers and Winstead fully supporting 10 Cloverfield Lane on her capable shoulders.
10 Cloverfield Lane
PG-13
Thriller
Horror
Sci-Fi
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
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Not available
- Release Date
- March 10, 2016
- Cast
- John Goodman , Mary Elizabeth Winstead , John Gallagher Jr. , Douglas M. Griffin , Suzanne Cryer , Bradley Cooper
- Runtime
- 105 minutes
- Writers
- Josh Campbell , Matthew Stuecken , Damien Chazelle
5 ‘It Comes At Night’ (2017)
Directed by Trey Edward Schultz
There’s nothing scarier than being trapped in isolation with strangers, as humans are often far more dangerous than any supernatural threat. This sense of distrust is a critical theme in The Watchers and It Comes At Night, a terrifying examination of what mankind is capable of when attempting to survive. Set in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event, It Comes at Night centers on two families that form a hasty alliance to pool their resources. Eventually, they all begin to suspect each other as they grow more desperate.
The Watchers is certainly not a very uplifting film, but It Comes at Night is almost indescribably bleak and includes one of the darkest endings in recent movie history. It's further elevated by its fantastic performances; Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, Christopher Abbott, and Riley Keough all manage to evoke the audiences’ sympathy for morally dubious characters.
It Comes at Night
R
Horror
Mystery
Thriller
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- June 9, 2017
- Cast
- Joel Edgerton , Riley Keough , Christopher Abbott , Carmen Ejogo , Kelvin Harrison , Griffin Robert Faulkner
- Runtime
- 97 minutes
- Writers
- Trey Edward Shults
4 ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ (2017)
Directed by Osgood Perkins
The Watchers proves that the best horror films are often those that focus on isolated locations; it's much more terrifying if the audience can relate to the scenario and put themselves in the same shoes as the characters. The Blackcoat’s Daughter is a haunting supernatural thriller that utilizes a non-linear narrative to examine a potential demonic entity. Set in an all-female Catholic boarding school during a holiday break, The Blackcoat’s Daughter centers on a grieving girl (Kiernan Shipka) and her pregnant roommate (Lucy Boynton) as they find evidence of a Satanic ritual.
In his chilling directorial debut, Osgood Perkins utilizes sparse locations and stark imagery to create a nightmarish situation. Like Shyamalan, Perkins faced sizable expectations for his first film because of his relation to a horror icon; he is the son of Anthony Perkins, best known for his portrayal of Norman Bates in the Psycho horror franchise.
The Blackcoat's Daughter
R
Horror
Mystery
Thriller
- Release Date
- February 16, 2017
- Cast
- Emma Roberts , Kiernan Shipka , Lucy Boynton , James Remar , Lauren Holly
- Runtime
- 93 minutes
- Writers
- Oz Perkins
3 ‘Us’ (2019)
Directed by Jordan Peele
One of the spookiest concepts in The Watchers is the notion that there are supernatural entities capable of mimicking human behavior, as they could potentially slip into human society unnoticed. Jordan Peele examined the presence of an underground society of doppelgangers in his terrifying horror film Us, one of the most rewatchable horror films of the past decade. Similar to his other films, Get Out and Nope, Us is a film so packed with latent details that viewers may pick up on new things after each viewing.
The Watchers and Us benefit from the dynamic female performances at their center. Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o’s performance in Us is an incredible work of physical transformation, perfectly capturing the essence of two unique characters. Similarly, the emotional nuance that Fanning brings to her performance in The Watchers makes the film more satisfying than it would have been otherwise.
Us (2019)
R
Horror
Psychological
Thriller
- Release Date
- March 22, 2019
- Cast
- Lupita Nyong'O , Winston Duke , Elisabeth Moss , Tim Heidecker
- Runtime
- 116 minutes
- Writers
- Jordan Peele
Rent on Amazon
2 ‘The Lodge’ (2020)
Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
The Watchers is certainly a film that is reliant on its twists and turns, but it's also a deep study of grief. It follows Mina, who is wrestling with a horrific accident that claimed the life of her sister and deals with a sense of guilt as she grows up. The Lodge is a powerful examination of grief, loss, and tragedy that focuses on the challenges of escaping the past. Riley Keough gives a devastating performance as a former member of a suicide cult who tries to have a normal life with her new boyfriend (Richard Armitage), only to be reminded of her dark past.
The Lodge is not for the faint of heart, as it tackles such pressing themes as mental health, suicide, and depression. Nonetheless, the film’s creepy atmosphere and scene-stealing performance by Alicia Silverstone make it a film that is difficult to forget and a modern, underappreciated classic that deserves more attention.
The Lodge
R
Horror
Drama
Mystery
- Release Date
- January 16, 2020
- Cast
- Richard Armitage , Alicia Silverstone , Riley Keough , Jaeden Martell , Danny Keough , Lia McHugh
- Runtime
- 108 minutes
- Writers
- Sergio Casci , Severin Fiala , Veronika Franz
1 ‘Knock at the Cabin’ (2023)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Knock at the Cabin may be the darkest film of M. Night Shyamalan’s career. The Sixth Sense and The Village certainly dealt with horrifying concepts, but Knock at the Cabin presents the horrifying prospect of having to kill a family member. Given that it deals with concepts of a global shutdown, a gang of Internet conspiracy theorists, and a shocking weather event, Knock at the Cabin feels eerily reminiscent of recent news events. It was one of the more underrated thrillers of 2023, as viewers may have struggled to wrap their minds around its cynical conclusion.
Both generations of Shyamalans have embraced the emotional turmoil of the horror genre, as The Watchers and Knock at the Cabin examine the dark side of human nature. Given how successful The Watchers was as a directorial debut, it will be exciting to see if Shyamalan’s daughter can match his legacy by making something as disturbing as Knock at the Cabin.
Knock at the Cabin
R
Thriller
Drama
Mystery
Horror
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- February 3, 2023
- Cast
- Dave Bautista , Jonathan Groff , Rupert Grint , Nikki Amuka-Bird , Ben Aldridge , Abby Quinn , Kristen Cui
- Runtime
- 100 minutes
- Writers
- M. Night Shyamalan , Steve Desmond , Michael Sherman
NEXT: The 10 Best Pierce Brosnan Movies, Ranked
- Coraline (2009)
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