New horror movie The Watched was inspired by one of the best supernatural thrillers and a very divisive 2009 horror
Jun. 4, 2024Exclusive: First-time director Ishana Night Shyamalan drew on a lot of memorable horror movies when making The Watched…
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Ishana Night Shyamalan’s debut horror film The Watched (called The Watchers internationally) is almost here. In the run-up to release, we sat down with the first-time director to chat about the inspirations behind the movie.
It turns out that she, unsurprisingly, is a bit horror fan, and drew on a lot of suspenseful movies when creating her own.
The Watched is basedon the book by A.M. Shine, and follows protagonist Mina (Dakota Fanning) as she becomes stranded in the Irish woodland. This is no ordinary forest, though, as it contains mysterious creatures that like to observe the humans stranded there. If they try to escape, or don’t follow the rules, that quiet observation quickly turns to viciously hunting people down.
It’s not the only acclaimed horror film Shyamalan looked to. “It’s not kind of in the same genre but we looked atAntichrista lot as a reference for what the forest might feel like,” she continues, referring to Lars von Trier’s 2009 movie starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
“Those movies really all have a sense of nature being a supernatural force. I was really looking into ‘How do I depict that?'”
There’s not long to wait to see exactly how Shyamalan has depicted it. The Watched opens in cinemas on 7 June.
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For more, check out our guide to all of theupcoming horror movieson the way and our list of thebest horror moviesof all time.
I’m the News Editor of Total Film magazine, overseeing the Teasers section of every issue where you can read exclusive previews of the biggest films. I was previously Staff Writer, then Contributing Editor at Film Stories, where I covered everything from blockbuster movies to independent British films - although admittedly big sci-fi and fantasy movies are my favourites! I’m always waiting for a new film by my favourite directors Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton, and am enthusiastic about all things dark and gothic.
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