The Corner Penthouse

Warner Brothers recently released the The Watchers (2024) 4K UHD. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

The Watchers follows Mina (Dakota Fanning), 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 that are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:41:43. The movie has been rated PG-13 for violence, terror and some thematic elements. Audio languages include English, French, Spanish. Subtitle languages include English SDH, French, Spanish.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found the UHD disc.

• Welcome to the Show: The Making of The Watchers (8:50) - Includes interview clips with director Ishana Night Shyamalan, actors John Lynch and Olwen Fouere, producer M. Night Shyamalan, and other members of the cast and crew.
• Creating The Watchers (5:02) - A look at the creation of the mysterious creatures seen in the film.
• Constructing the Coop (6:16) - Various cast and crew members, including writer A.M. Shine, talk about the sets and their visual adaptation.
• Ainriochtan and the Irish Fairy Folklore (4:22) - A discussion of the legends and myths used in story of the film.
• Lair of Love (9:29) - The mock reality show clips that are partially seen in the finished film.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

A digital copy code voucher is included inside the standard one-disc black UHD case. A slipcover is included.

[ NOTES ]

The Watchers (2024) is available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD. The film is based on the novel by A.M. Shine, which I have not read, so I can't tell you how good of an adaptation the film is. However, I can tell you that I can't recommend the film itself as a blind buy. You should rent it or see it on the Max streaming service first.

That's because it is the epitome of a "shut off your brain" movie. Once you start applying logic and common sense to the precedings, it all starts to fall apart. Without giving spoilers, the biggest flaw of the story, for me, was how the movie tried to explain the building of "the coop". A college professor continually went into neighboring towns and hired expendable people whom he left to die each night. That is all fine and good, except for the fact that a major aspect of the story is that this is a forest that NO ONE can leave! Also, a concrete bunker, especially one with an elaborate underground component, would require large construction equipment. How does one bring a bulldozer into a forest?

Other common sense quandaries that the movie doesn't answer... When Mina found herself driving down a dirt track that clearly wasn't going anywhere, why didn't she turn around and try to find a new route? What did the people in "the coop" use for toilet paper? (There was mention of a "piss bucket", but nothing regarding the other bodily function.) How did they keep themselves clean with no washing facilities? Did they wear the same underwear every day? Did they have plates and cutlery? If Daniel had been there for eight months, how did he keep his hair so short? Where did Daniel get the huge length of cable needed to connect the camera to the television? Are we expected to believe that the camera came with still functioning batteries? Where did Daniel and Mina get that long length of rope from? If it's possible to successfully hide from the watchers under some branches, why not build such hideouts beyond the points of no return, thus making escape more likely? Who was keeping the generator topped up with fuel? Did no one question where the power source was hidden? Would a university really leave a professor's room untouched for over thirty years?

On a positive side, the three female leads - Dakota Fanning (Mina), Georgina Campbell (Ciara), and Olwen Fouere (Madeline) - all did a good job with the material they were given. Oliver Finnegan (Daniel), was okay, for what little there was to his role. The cinematography was good and the creatures were well designed. Overall, if you shut off your brain and just let the movie play out in front of you, it's not the worse way to spent 102 minutes.

This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.