The Watchers is a new horror film adapted and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and based on the novel by A.M. Shine. He’s a new author of Literary Horror from Ireland.
The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night. You can’t see them, but they see everything. The Watchers stars Dakota Fanning (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Ocean’s Eight”), Georgina Campbell (“Barbarian,” “Suspicion”), Oliver Finnegan (“Creeped Out,” “Outlander”) and Olwen Fouere (“The Northman,” “The Tourist”). The film is produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan and Nimitt Mankad. The executive producers are Jo Homewood and Stephen Dembitzer. The lead producer is her dad, M. Night Shyamalan.
The trailer has a creepy supernatural vibe. It opens with a beautiful and pretty famous song (The Swan) played on Theremin, the scifi instrument you play without touching it. Mina looks at a wall made entirely of glass. She’s informed that it’s actually a one-way window; every night the group is watched by a sinister audience, that sometimes applauds. Maybe a metaphor for modern-day mass surveillance and social media, or celebrity.
The Watchers is Shine’s first novel, after winning prizes for his short stories. Reviewers praise his Gothic, atmospheric style. The Creeper is his second novel. Ishana went from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and making short films, to working with her father to write and direct several episodes of his long-running Apple TV+ series Servant.
The cast is impressive for Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut. The film was announced by New Line in 2023, and shot around Dublin, Ireland. The Watchers is scheduled to be released in theaters worldwide on June 7, 2024.
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David Raiklen wrote, directed and scored his first film at age 9. He began studying keyboard and composing at age 5. He attended, then taught at UCLA, USC and CalArts. Among his teachers are John Williams and Mel Powel.
He has worked for Fox, Disney and Sprint. David has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 American Music Center Award. Dr. Raiklen has composed music and sound design for theater (Death and the Maiden), dance (Russian Ballet), television (Sing Me a Story), cell phone (Spacey Movie), museums (Museum of Tolerance), concert (Violin Sonata ), and film (Appalachian Trail).
His compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the first Disney Hall. David Raiken is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club.
