Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Watchers.
Summary
The Watchersdirector Ishana Night Shyamalan offers her explanation for the ending of the film. Hitting theaters earlier this month, Shyamalan’s horror thriller stars Dakota Fanning as Mina, a young artist who becomes stranded in a vast forest in Ireland along with several others. The story sees the group eventually realize that they’re being hunted by a race of ancient beings that they call Watchers.The Watchersendingsees Mina ultimately escape the forest, but Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), who is revealed to have been a halfling Watcher all along, is shown in human form keeping an eye on her.
In a recent interview withThe Movie Blog, Shyamalan explainsThe Watchers' final scene with Madeline. According to the director, it’s meant to serve as a big tease for a much larger story universe to be explored. Check out her comment below:
“For me, the end of the film is meant to establish a larger world. It’s just dipping your toe in, and we have all of that mythology built out much further. So, the idea is that there’s a whole complex world you haven’t yet seen that exists on the outskirts of the film.”
Will The Watchers 2 Happen?
Ishana Night Shyamalan’s Thriller Hasn’t Been A Big Hit So Far
Judging from Shyamalan’s comments, the ending ofThe Watchersis meant to potentially set the stage for a sequel. While Mina’s story may be over, Shyamalan has clearly crafted a much larger mythology that could be further explored in a follow-up movie. Unfortunately, however, it’s not looking likely thatThe Watchers 2will be happening anytime soon.
The Watchersreviewshave generally been quite negative. Thefilm currently sports a low Rotten Tomatoes score of only 29%, and the audience score is a lackluster 53%. Critics tend to criticize the movie for its poor script, with the narrative ultimately not feeling either very scary or emotionally compelling. Some have also criticized the movie for twists and turns that don’t feel entirely earned or impactful.
Why The Watchers' Reviews & 25% Rotten Tomatoes Score Are So Bad
Ishana Shyamalan’s 2024 horror movie The Watchers has remarkably bad initial reviews– here’s why and here’s what the critics are saying about it.
This negative reception is reflected inThe Watchers' poor box office performance. Made on an estimated production budget of around $30 million,the film opened to a disappointing $7 million domestic. While it’s still early days for the movie, the worldwide box office haul of $11.7 million worldwide doesn’t bode well for the movie breaking even and becoming profitable. WhileThe Watchersending teases a much larger world, it’s unlikely Shyamalan will be getting to further explore it.
The Watchers
Cast
Based on A.M. Shine’s novel, The Watchers follows Mina, 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.
