Summary
The Watchersstars Dakota Fanning, and it’s a great reminder to watch her horror movie debut from 2005. The horror genre keeps going through a great run with original stories, sequels, reboots, and adaptations of preexisting works, and falling into the latter category isThe Watchers. Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan in her directorial debut and based on the 2022 novel of the same name by A. M. Shine,The Watcherstook the audience to Galway, Ireland, to meet Mina (Fanning), an American immigrant working in a pet shop tasked with delivering a parrot in Belfast.
On her way there, Mina’s car broke down and left her (and the parrot) stranded in a vast forest. Mina was rescued by an old woman named Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), who took her to a bunker-like shelter with a mirrored glass wall. There, Mina met two other occupants – Ciara and Daniel – and learned that there were monstrous creatures living in the forest and who observed them every night through the mirrored glass. Despite its strong performances,The Watchershasn’t performed well with critics, but it’s still a great reminder to revisit Fanning’s horror movie debut from almost 20 years ago.
The Watchers Is Much Better Than Its 32% Rotten Tomatoes Score Suggests
The Watchers currently holds a low Rotten Tomatoes critics score, but the movie offers a lot more and has a deeper meaning than this number suggests.
Dakota Fanning’s First Horror Movie Was 2005’s Hide And Seek
Hide And Seek Starred Dakota Fanning & Robert De Niro
Hide and Seektells the story of Dr. David Callaway and his daughter Emily, who, after the death of Emily’s mother from an apparent suicide, move to upstate New York to start over again.
Dakota Fanning’s acting career began in 2000 in small roles in different TV shows, such asERand CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and she made her big screen debut in the 2001 comedyTomcats. However, Fanning’s first, proper role in a movie arrived that same year inI Am Sam, where she played Lucy, the daughter of the title character, played by Sean Penn. Fanning received a lot of praise for her role, effectively launching her career. Since then, Fanning has appeared in movies from different genres, and she made her horror debut in 2005 thanks toHide and Seek.
Directed by John Polson and written by Ari Schlossberg,Hide and Seektells the story of Dr. David Callaway (Robert De Niro) and his 9-year-old daughter Emily (Fanning), who, after the death of Emily’s mother from an apparent suicide, move to upstate New York to start over again. There,Emily makes an “imaginary” friend called “Charlie”, but this friendship begins to disturb David as more and more shocking stuff happens around them.Hide and Seekhas a plot twist that wasn’t well-received and has become controversial as it deals with mental health.
Hide and Seekholds a 12% critics scoreonRotten Tomatoesand a 50% audience score, granting it a “rotten” label on both. However, it was a box office success, grossing $127 million against a $25 million budget. Despite its negative critical reception,Hide and Seekis a must-watch from Fanning’s filmography, and it was her first venture into the world of horror.
Dakota Fanning Is One Of The Best Parts Of Hide And Seek
Dakota Fanning’s Performance In Hide And Seek Stood Out
Fanning brought the suspense and drama necessary to keep the audience’s attention and wonder about what was truly happening between Emily, David, and Charlie.
Hide and Seekwas called by critics “illogical”, “derivative”, and even “silly”, butDe Niro and Fanning’s performances received a lot of praise. Arguably, the best parts ofHide and Seek, and what kept the movie afloat, were De Niro and Fanning’s performances and their chemistry, but Fanning truly stood out. By the timeHide and Seekentered production, Fanning had established herself as one of the most promising young actresses and one who could bring drama, comedy, and tension to her performances, which truly showed inHide and Seek.
Despite the many flaws in the script ofHide of Seek, Fanning brought the suspense and drama necessary to keep the audience’s attention and wonder about what was truly happening between Emily, David, and Charlie. Fanning’s performance was so powerful that she even overshadowed De Niro in different scenes throughoutHide and Seek, including during the big twist.
Hide And Seek Is An Even Better Watch After The Watchers
Dakota Fanning Has An Interesting Journey In The Horror Genre
Although she made thrillers and psychological dramas betweenHide and SeekandThe Watchers, the latter is Fanning’s proper return to horror. Although she was a main character inHide and Seekand her performance stood out from the rest, the main character was, ultimately, De Niro’s David.The Watchersis Fanning’s first horror movie as the lead character, so watchingHide and SeekafterThe Watchersis an interesting and fun comparison.
WatchingHide and SeekafterThe Watchersalsoshows how much Fanning has grown as an actress and her acting range, as Emily and Mina, while having similarities like both carrying a lot of trauma (related to their families), had completely different contexts.The Watcherswon’t be Fanning’s last horror venture as she has Bryan Bertino’sViciouscoming up in 2025, adding to her interesting history in the genre.
The Watchers
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.
