M. Night Shyamalan – STREAMING MOVIE NIGHT

2024 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 41min

Horror ~ Fantasy ~ Thriller

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré and Oliver Finnegan.

“You can’t see them, but they see everything.”

Dakota Fanning stars as Mina, an American Artist working in an exotic pet shop in Galway, Ireland. A customer has bought the Golden Conure Parrot and the owner asks Mina to deliver the parrot to the zoo that bought it in Belfast. The GPS takes her through an uncharted forest in western Ireland and on a narrow one lane dirt path, her car and the GPS suddenly quit working. Thinking she saw someone, she grabs the birdcage and heads into the woods to find help. She comes across a woman who suddenly takes off running and Mina follows her. Mina catches up just in time to see the woman in the door of a large concrete bunker say “You better hurry, it’s almost dark and they will be coming.”

Mina makes it inside safely as the woman closes the huge metal door and locks the numerous bolts that secure the door. Mina looks around at the concrete bunker and notices that one wall is completely glass, floor to ceiling. There is also a young man and a girl with the woman Mina had followed. The Older woman introduces herself as Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), and the young woman and man as Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan). She tells Mina that they must hurry and line up in front of the window, they will be here soon. “Who? Who will be here soon? What is going on?”, Mina wants to know, but then she hears them. The Watchers have come….

Who are The Watchers you ask? I dare not tell you for it would ruin it for you. I can’t say anymore without giving anything away except maybe….It is an uncharted spooky forest in Ireland and there is a bit of Irish Folklore at hand. I am fond of Ireland, I have American and Irish ancestry. Although given the current state in America it might be time to leave and go to Ireland, but that is political talk not meant for a movie review. I liked the scenery and the way the forest was portrayed as a very spooky forbidden place. Lots of fog creeping in amongst the trees as the night comes. There are a lot of twists and turns you don’t see coming, and you don’t put it all together until the end. I think Dakota Fanning and the rest of the cast did a good job. I think the parrot could have had a bigger role. I can see how he might have been put to more use to add some suspense after finding out he could talk.

I liked the story, it is based on the book The Watchers by A.M. Shine. A bit of Irish Folklore with a Horror twist. It was directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan who also produced the movie. It is Ishana’s Directorial debut, after reading the book she thought that it would translate well to the screen and decided to direct it with the help of her father. I think that it is a good first attempt, it kept me going right up until the end. The end was kind of anti-climatic for me. I haven’t read the book so I don’t know if the book is that way as well. It felt like a bit of a let-down after the build-up to the end.

So to sum everything up, I liked it. I thought it was a great first attempt for Ishana. Could it have been better, I think so. There were some obvious things that could have given it more depth and to tie things together a little better. The ending was a bit of a let-down, I think that could have been handled differently to really make the ending zing.(You know….ZING!) I will say I liked it more then her father’s movie Knock At The Cabin. I think it is worth a watch, give it a go and tell me what you think.

2023 Universal Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 40min

Drama ~ Horror ~ Thriller

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint.

“Save your family or save Humanity. You have to make a choice.”

Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) are vacationing with their seven year old daughter Wen at a remote rental cabin in rural Pennsylvania. Wen is out front playing by herself and catching grasshoppers when a large man appears walking closer. He tries to make friends with her and tells her his name is Leonard (Dave Bautista). Leonard tells Wen that he and his friends have come to be friends with Wen and her two Dads. And that her Dads must let them in and listen to what they have to say. Seeing Leonard’s three friends approaching little Wen gets frightened and runs into the cabin to warn her Dads.

The Dads come into the cabin from the back where they were chilling. Listening to Wen being very upset alarms them and they button down the cabin. They see the strangers outside as they approach the door and Leonard knocks. He calls out Eric and Andrew by name and tells them they need to let them in. Eric and Andrew refuse and are alarmed by Leonard’s tone and why complete strangers have shown up wanting in. Leonard and his companions do not wait to be let in very long before they take action. By any means necessary they force their way into the cabin and tell Eric and Andrew that they were led to their cabin by visions. And they must listen to what they have to say and make a choice.

He tells Eric and Andrew that Humanity’s future hangs in the balance and that they must make a decision to help or turn their back. The choice is theirs to make but that there will be consequences either way, good or bad. The four strangers all have medieval weapons and it is all very ominous and horrifying as the movie plays out. In the very beginning of the movie, in the intro, there are drawings that the four strangers later refer to in the movie. I didn’t pay much attention to them in the beginning, but after realizing they were a part of the story, I went back and watched it again. So pay attention to those drawings in the beginning, they will make more sense later on in the movie.

It is more psychological horror than slasher horror, and it is definitely thought provoking. And it does keep you on your toes wondering what the heck is really going on. Are the four strangers nuts or is this for real? It is definitely a nightmare scenario for Eric, Andrew and Wen who thought they were going to have a peaceful little vacation in the wilderness. I really liked Dave Bautista in this. There was something very comforting yet terrifying about his presence and demeanor. Kristin Cui did a good job as little Wen, a good little actress she is.

The movie is based on the book The Cabin At The End Of The World by Paul Tremblay (The Book Link is an Amazon Affiliate link where we earn a small commission that does not affect your price) It is not for everyone, it is a psychological horror thriller that will make you squirm as choices and actions are made. But I liked it, it was something different and M. Night always leads us down unexpected paths, like this one.