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The Night Watchmen

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Mitchell Altieri

Kevin Jiggetts

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The Night Watchmen

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Ken Arnold (Ken) Dan De Luca (Luca) Kevin Jiggetts (Jiggetts) Kara Luiz (Karen) Max Gray Wilbur (Rajeeve) James Remar (Randall) Matt Servitto (Willy) Diona Reasonover (Penny) Rain Pryor (Margaret) Tiffany Shepis (Stacy)

Mitchell Altieri

Three inept night watchmen, aided by a young rookie and a fearless tabloid journalist, fight an epic battle for their lives against a horde of hungry vampires.

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The night watchmen.

Directed by Mitchell Altieri

Some men were born heroes... It wasn't these guys.

Three inept night watchmen, aided by a young rookie and a fearless tabloid journalist, fight an epic battle to save their lives. A mistaken warehouse delivery unleashes a horde of hungry vampires, and these unlikely heroes must not only save themselves but also stop the scourge that threatens to take over the city of Baltimore.

Ken Arnold Dan DeLuca Kevin Jiggetts Kara Luiz Max Gray Wilbur James Remar Matt Servitto Diona Reasonover Rain Pryor Tiffany Shepis Sarah French Bill Steffey

Director Director

Mitchell Altieri

Writers Writers

Jamie Nash Dan DeLuca Ken Arnold

Stunts Stunts

Ilyana Eberhardt

Contender Films Studio BOH Indie Entertainment Orama Filmworks Splendid Film

Releases by Date

24 feb 2017, 02 aug 2017, 04 mar 2017, 22 sep 2017, 15 oct 2022, releases by country.

• Premiere Fantasia International Film Festival
• Digital 12 Prime Video
• Premiere 18

90 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by RCDoom9113 ★★½

I've been looking forward to this movie for a long time. It first came on my radar in late 2016 as being in some stage of production and since then I am been steadily keeping an eye out for it. As these things usually go, I was at work the other day and happened to check the Ol' Amazon new releases section on a smoke break and there it was, just sitting there waiting for me to buy it. And so I did. Immediately. It showed up and I was stoked to watch a movie that I'd been wanting to see for something like 15 months. I'm not sure if it was that long waiting period, or if it was…

Review by Zay ★★★★

Another go to horror comedy, been alot on my brain since yesterday smh.

Four cornball overnight security guards and a spunky journalist are forced to battle a horde of vampires led by a vampire clown. These vamps also fart when they die. Likable protagonists, scream queen Tiffany Shepis has a cameo, the vampires look menacing(especially the main clown vamp), the humor is dry n witty, the bloodspray is constant, and the pacing is fast.

Mindlessly stupid horror comedy...I love this one!

Review by single white femalien ½ 2

if you ever get lulled into a false sense of security this movie is a great reminder that men are not funny. they never have been and they never will be!

Review by Troy L. ★★★ 2

Just a bunch of Vampire Clowns that fart after they die

Review by haley ★★ 2

i went into this with low expectations and i still think this was way too cheesy and cheap. i guess it was supposed to be funny but the comedy here was really weak. i can see what they were trying to do but no matter how hard i tried, i couldn't get into this mess. i just hope other people enjoy it more than i did.

Review by coles84 ★

You know those scripts that feel like they have been written by a 14 year old who has just discovered the adult channel, horror movies, weed and has an obsession for laughing at fart jokes? Well if that is your thing, you will hit gold here. A film that tries so damn hard to be funny it is actually cringeworthy. No natural humour, everything is totally forced and sounds awful. We get teased with vampire clowns which sounds interesting at least but they are very rare and all the vampires are much more zombie like anyway making this no different to any other zombie comedy of the last 5 years. 

I watched MAYHEM last night which took the office culture…

Review by bulletproofQpid ★★★½

"Okay, I thought you were weird from the get go. And I figure most white people are weird. Weird fucks with sandals. Camouflage on every damn thing. Camping! Fucking camping! We got running water now! What the fuck is up with that?"

It goes a bit too far with some of the stuff and runs a few jokes into the ground, but overall I had a pretty damn good time with this security guards and one poor office worker versus a horde of vampires led by a clown. It's juvenile, yes, but sometimes that's what I need from a horror film.

Review by Kevin_Robbins ★★★

I recently watched The Night Watchmen (2017) on Shudder. The storyline follows four incompetent night watchmen in a Baltimore warehouse who receive a strange package one night, unleashing an outbreak of vampires. Can the watchmen stop the vampires and maybe save the world in the process?

Directed by Mitchell Altieri (The Hamiltons) and featuring James Remar (The Warriors), Ken Arnold (Men in Black 3), Kevin Jiggetts (Concussion), Kara Luiz (Hacks) and Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley).

This movie pleasantly surprised me; it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated at all. Being a local production for me, primarily shot in Annapolis, Maryland, it succeeds in not taking itself too seriously, with lighthearted dialogue and circumstances. If you can overlook the somewhat…

Review by gh ★★½

fck’ing hate clowns

Review by Travis Lytle ★★

Though never terrible, "The Night Watchmen" will be a tough sell for genre fans who like their horror-comedies original or peopled with strong characters. The story follows its titular security personnel as they fend off a vampire incursion at their Baltimore property; and, though that story provides energy, it will ring far too familiar to other, recent, like-minded horror outings of similar tones. That, and the fact that its players are never fully attention-earning, punctures what the film does right with its energy and color. The results may be enough for some.

Review by Jake Alda Coffey ★½

It’s a movie about vampire clowns. It sounds more fun than the movie leads on. I was expecting to have a good time watching this, but I really didn’t enjoy anything that went on.

Review by BriAnimator_ ★★★★

I actually really loved this and 10/10 could see this becoming a comfort watch. It’s incredibly dumb, but it’s okay because it’s self-aware and consistent.

Expect fart jokes and a little less clown than I thought there would be, but there’s a little twist that makes this one fun. Plus the whole cast/group dynamic is both cringey and amazing at the same time. I’d say give it a chance if you like horror comedies!

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The Night Watchmen

By Nick Rocco Scalia | January 4, 2018

Some movies are best enjoyed by viewers willing to abide by the old adage, “check your brain at the door.” Others, however, require some further commitment in this department – rather than just, metaphorically, leave said brain on one’s front porch, it’s more appropriate to give it some money for cab fare, send it out for a nice night on the town (preferably the other side of town), and tell it not to hurry home.

Then, while your gray matter is out doing brainy things – attending, perhaps, a gallery opening or a lecture on the geopolitical climate that precipitated the Crimean War – you can stay home, put your feet up, and enjoy a deeply silly movie like The Night Watchmen , guilt-free. It’s more than worth the effort.

The film, from director Mitchell Altieri, is an over-the-top horror/comedy that pits a team of bumbling security guards against an onslaught of vampires led by a bloodthirsty undead clown. It’s got manic energy to spare, and because it never sets out to be anything more ambitious than an enjoyably goofy, occasionally bloody vampire-slaying romp, it basically succeeds on all fronts.

“Silly, splattery, and mostly well-staged on a low budget…”

Altieri and company’s best choice is to keep things rolling at a hyperkinetic pace throughout, with gags and action bits so quick and plentiful that viewers are almost never left time to groan when a joke falls flat or a moment tips the scale from silly over to stupid. That caffeinated approach to storytelling is apparent right off the rip, as The Night Watchmen efficiently and entertainingly introduces its protagonist (Max Gray Wilbur) – a punk rocker turned rent-a-cop who, thanks to one of the film’s more clever gags, will come to be known only as Rajeeve – to his soon-to-be brothers-in-arms. They’re the night security crew at a Baltimore city newspaper, made up of slacker ex-Marine Ken (Ken Arnold), amiable but equally work-averse Jiggetts (Kevin Jiggetts), and the mysterious, short-tempered Luca (Dan DeLuca), who may or may not be a hitman hiding out under witness protection.

With the team quickly established, Rajeeve undergoes a few obligatory (rather amusing) hazing rituals before the proverbial s**t hits the fan. Long story short (just the way this movie likes it): the corpse of a beloved Baltimore clown named Blimpo is accidentally shipped to the paper’s warehouse, and when it’s disturbed by skeevy editor Randall (character actor James Remar, seemingly having a great time slumming it), the building – and the rest of the city – is soon besieged by a plague of bloodsuckers in the vampiric Blimpo’s thrall.

The vampire slaughter that follows is silly, splattery, and mostly well-staged on a low budget, and as the titular night watchmen attempt to fight back – alongside no-nonsense reporter Karen (Kara Ruiz) and, occasionally, badass janitor Willy (Matt Servitto) – the locked-down location gives things a nice Die Hard / Assault on Precinct 13 sort of feel at times. There’s even an effective jump scare or two dished out in the film’s early going, though a movie that features this many squeaky clown shoes ( It notwithstanding) is obviously leaning pretty heavily toward the “comedy” side of the comedy/horror equation.

“Give your brain the night off, crack a beer, and enjoy without reservations.”

Again, the rapid-fire pace of The Night Watchmen ‘s gags is the movie’s greatest asset, though the humor is very much hit-and-miss – a recurring fart joke, for example, is groan-worthy on its initial appearance and just gets worse as it’s repeated ad nauseum from there. Nothing remotely approaches the comedic brilliance of obvious influences like Evil Dead 2 or Shaun of the Dead , but there are more than a handful of laughs to be had throughout, particularly for viewers who are in touch with their inner 12-year-old.

That’s the irony of a movie like The Night Watchmen : there’s obvious smarts and skill behind its stupidity; it knows exactly what its audience wants and how to keep delivering it over and over. This is a flick that isn’t too proud to trot out the old “is that a flashlight in your pocket” bit, that knows its viewers won’t give a s**t that most of the major characters are named after the actors who play them, that’s wholeheartedly convinced that hip hop slang from the early 2000s is still hilarious. And, somehow, all of that stuff works – even the lame jokes feel like they belong, and the movie is somehow even more endearing for leaving them in.

So, yes, give your brain the night off, crack a beer, and enjoy without reservations – The Night Watchmen is damn entertaining, and anyone who can’t appreciate it is simply thinking too hard.

The Night Watchmen (2017) Directed by Mitchell Altieri. Written by Dan DeLuca and Jamie Nash. Starring Ken Arnold, Dan DeLuca, Kevin Jiggetts, Max Gray Wilbur, Kara Luiz, James Remar, Matt Servitto, Diona Reasonover, and Rain Pryor.

4 out of 5 stars

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The Night Watchmen Reviews

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• Horror, Comedy
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When a pack of blood-thirsty zombie vampires rises up, three incompetent night watchmen, along with an office worker and a journalist, have to fight for their lives.

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Horror Movie Review: The Night Watchmen (2017)

The Night Watchmen is a comedy horror directed by Mitchell Altieri and starring Ken Arnold, Dan DeLuca, Kevin Jiggetts and Kara Luiz (several of whom also served as writers too).

Combining vampires, clowns, slapstick & ‘gross out’ comedy, The Night Watchmen follows a similar trend to many modern horror comedies. In that it sees a group of ‘hapless’ types put in danger & forced to team together. Here it’s a group of night watchmen who work at a newspaper office.

Blimpo the Clown and his circus trope all die mysteriously while travelling through Romania. It’s a national tragedy seemingly and the bodies are shipped back to the US for autopsies. The body of Blimpo ends up at the newspaper office after a mix up where Ken, Jiggetts and Luca are introducing the new recruit to the whole operation.

It’s not long before Blimpo emerges from his coffin looking for a meal & it just so happens that the office staff are working late tonight! Soon the whole place is over-run by vampires thirsty for blood forcing office ‘hottie’ Karen to team up with the night watchmen to try & survive the night.

Let’s focus on the comedy aspect of The Night Watchmen first. Weighted heavily towards silly fart humour & slapstick gross out moments, it does raise a chuckle or two. That being said it also misses the mark a hell of a lot. The problem lies in the repetition of certain bits such as the ‘dead vampire fart’ joke that isn’t funny to begin with.

Other out of touch, cheesy & dated at times, the comedy comes at a rapid fire pace seemingly hoping to occasionally stick the landing.

For all its faults with the comedy, The Night Watchmen isn’t a bad film. It’s well-made for being a low-budget indie flick. A lot of the cast are decent and the film doesn’t drag its heels with good editing keeping everything moving at a fast pace.

The blood is splashed around & almost every character ends up covered in red and black gore.

Unfortunately for The Night Watchmen it’s also going up against a far superior vampire comedy. One also set in an office; Bloodsucking Bastards (or Bloodsucking Bosses). One that nailed the comedy aspect & poured buckets of blood over everything. (Read our review here ).

The Night Watchmen is a popcorn flick in every sense of the word. Short and silly, if farting vampires, weed jokes, awkward love scenes and an incredibly cheesy ending are what you’re looking for then this movie provides all of that & more.

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The Night Watchmen

• The Final Score - 6/10 6/10

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Kourosh Ahari's "The Night," about a couple confronting their relationship demons in a haunted hotel, is a knockout debut—so assured that it stands on its own as a filmmaking achievement apart from its historical significance, which is considerable. 

Shot on location in Los Angeles, by a crew in which every department head was Iranian American; steeped in the specific culture of West Coasters of Persian descent; and featuring probably 80% dialogue in Farsi with subtitles, this is the first American-made movie to be invited to screen commercially in Iran. But what's ultimately most impressive about "The Night" is how it manages to feel big despite being a small film, filling up the screen with atmosphere, performance, tension, and a sense of style even though it was shot quickly and cheaply in available locations. Like " The Babadook ," " Reservoir Dogs ," " Blood Simple ," "She's Gotta Have It" and other memorable debuts that amounted to a promise of future films worth seeing, this movie offers additional proof that you don't need a lot of money to make a good movie. You just have to understand your material and your craft, and make sure everyone involved in the production is on the same page, which was obviously the case here.

The story begins with a married couple, Babak Naderi ( Shahab Hosseini  of “ A Separation ” and “ The Salesman ”) and his wife Neda (Niousha Jafarian of “Here and Now”) and their infant daughter hanging out at another couple's Los Angeles home. While it's a pleasant evening for the most part, it's clear that there's tension in the marriage, mainly over Babak's drinking. 

On the way home, they fight in the car—mainly over whether Babak should be behind the wheel—and get lost near downtown. Their navigation system is messed up for no apparent reason, and there are a few other dreamlike tells that indicate something is amiss. Running low on gas, they decide to stay in at the Hotel Normandie—one of many plot elements in "The Night," that doesn't necessarily stand up to strict logical scrutiny, since the couple lives 30 minutes away and taxis and ride-shares exist, but it's best to just roll with movie and not go CinemaSins on it—and it's here that "The Night" kicks into " The Shining " mode, with Babak, Neda and their baby checking in and hearing and seeing increasingly scary things.

Ahari and cowriter  Milad Jarmooz balance the Kubrickian aspects that you'd expect from this setup and a behavior-based, at times theatrical component that invests all the story's tension in the lead performances and amplifies it with aural, visual and musical flourishes. Rooms, hallways, alleys, and streetscapes that would seem unremarkable in real life are shot (by  Maz Makhani ) and scored (by  Nima Fakhrara , channeling quasi-experimental composers like Ludwig Göransson and Brian Reitzell ) to suggest that something eerie or deadly could emerge at any time, from any part of the frame. 

Little touches make every moment pop. Notice, for instance, how you don't just see rhythmic pulses of primary colored light from neon signs outside the couple's window, you faintly hear the signs going bzz, bzz, bzz . It's the sort of detail that might not register if you were in a pleasant frame of mind but that can be tortuous when you're fighting with your partner and having trouble get to sleep because of the tension in the room, the bathroom faucet dripping, and those footsteps in the unit above.

The filmmaking pays close attention to negative space, and to what's in focus and what's not. A long sequence plays in a tight closeup of Babak lying in bed facing away from Neda while talking to her. She's out of focus in the background behind him. Eventually things take a turn for the weird, and the fact that you sense that something's not right long before Babak does gives the scene an edge of black comedy that can only come from every component of filmmaking and performance operating on the same wavelength. I've been a horror buff all my life, but (like " The Invisible Man " last year) this movie still managed to show me a few things that I've never seen before—nothing revolutionary in terms of style or subject matter, but subtle variations on known quantities: the cinematic equivalent of a new turn of phrase, or a word that usually means one thing somehow meaning the opposite, thanks to the context in which it's used. You'll know what I mean when you watch the movie.

Once you settle into the vibe of "The Night," you get to a point where you think you can figure out what's going on and what's coming next. That's when the movie switches things up and goes in a different direction—but a rewarding one. Ahari, who also edited the movie, seems to take his cues not just from certain well-known classics of modern horror (and horror-adjacent hotel films like " Barton Fink ") but from an earlier mode of mid-20th century European art cinema/psychological drama represented by directors like Ingmar Bergman , who made films (particularly early in his career) where realistic situations were presented in terms of metaphor, or vice-versa, in such a deadpan way that you had to accept that you were seeing a story wherein you were supposed to take things seriously but not literally—as in a dream that feels like it's all actually happening until you realize that too many things feel "off."

Hosseini's hangdog expressions, particularly in silent closeups, have the ragged, carved-from-sheetrock beauty of Benicio del Toro when his characters are struggling towards self-knowledge and not quite getting there. Jafarian matches him, doing a lot with a part that turns out to be deeper and trickier than the opening scenes indicate. Both parties are hiding secrets in deep vaults. Part of the movie's delicate balancing act is figuring out how many pieces to give you, and when, and letting you arrive at correct conclusions or jump to incorrect ones. 

There's a sociological or anthropological component happening in the margins: this is also a movie about being foreign born and nonwhite in a white-run, English speaking country, and while this never overwhelms the main story, it informs it, particularly in scenes where the couple interacts with a white police officer ( Michael Graham ) and a Black homeless man (Elester Latham) whose disheveled appearance and unnerving approach trigger feelings of class anxiety in the couple and momentarily prevent them from realizing that he has something important to tell them.

George Maguire's performance as the hotel's night manager is a standout in a cast filled with gems. He has one of those mellifluous voices that seizes control of a movie the instant you hear it—a honeyed tenor verging on baritone, the voice of a narrator in a very old Hollywood movie—and it echoes in your imagination for the rest of its running time even when he's not onscreen (like Zelda Rubinstein in "Poltergeist," whose delighted "This house is cleansed ," once heard, never leaves the mind). 

There are two or three moments where you might worry that "The Night" is overplaying its hand or overstaying its welcome, but these turn out to be feints for a jab or knockout punch. The last section is as assured a finale as any I've seen, and the final few shots are bracingly uncompromising, practically a gauntlet thrown down to viewers who treat moviegoing mainly as a chance to prove that they're smarter than the storytellers and can guess what's going to happen before it does.

This is not the kind of film that you try to outsmart. It's not a puzzle. It's something else: the kind of movie you see and think about and argue about, knowing that there's no correct answer to "What happened?" or "What does it mean?" It's as if "The Night" is constantly playing on what we think we know about this kind of movie and recalibrating its approach in every scene to keep us as unsettled as its lead couple, who checked into the marriage crisis equivalent of the Hotel California and worry they might never leave.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film Credits

The Night (2021)

105 minutes

Shahab Hosseini as Babak Naderi

Niousha Noor as Neda Naderi

Armin Amiri as Farhad

• Kourosh Ahari
• Milad Jarmooz

Cinematographer

• Maz Makhani
• Nima Fakhrara

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The Night Watchmen

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• Who are the actors in 'The Night Watchmen'? 'The Night Watchmen' star cast includes Dan DeLuca, Kevin Jiggetts, Kara Luiz and James Remar.
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The Watchers Has Screened. See The First Reactions To Ishana Night Shyamalan’s New Horror Movie

M. Night Shyamalan's daughter makes her feature directorial debut.

At this point we’re all familiar with the work of M. Night Shyamalan , and — love him or hate him — his movies have been the topic of great conversation ever since Haley Joel Osment told us he sees dead people. Now there’s a new Shyamalan in the game, as Ishana Night Shyamalan prepares to make her feature directorial debut with The Watchers . The supernatural horror is being adapted from the novel of the same name by A.M. Shine, and ahead of its June 14 release, some have been able to attend early screenings. So what are their reactions?

Moviegoers will no doubt be keeping an eye out for similarities between the father and daughter’s directing styles — are we in for a big plot twist ? — but Ishana Night Shyamalan intends to distinguish herself from her father’s work . For one thing, she is inspired by fantasy and the work of Japanese filmmaker and animator Hayao Miyazak . Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue is certainly happy with the final product, as she wrote on X (Twitter) : 

The Watchers is horrifying and a perfect outing for Ishana Night Shyamalan as a filmmaker and I am obsessed.

The movie stars Dakota Fanning as Mina, who becomes trapped in a forest and happens upon three strangers who say they are being watched and stalked at night. Shannon McGrew of Nightmarish says the movie overall leaves something to be desired, but The Watchers shows promise. McGrew also enjoys the Irish folklore aspect of it. In the critic’s words: 

The Watchers unfortunately doesn’t live up to its full potential, but Ishana’s ability to craft uncanny moments shine through, esp during one key revelation. Nonetheless, it was refreshing to see more movies exploring the terrifying nature of Irish folklore.

Jamie Jirak of ComicBook.com praises the lead actress as well as the director’s debut effort. While this critic also says there are things to nitpick, Ishana Night Shyamalan clearly can tell a good story, and it will be exciting to see what her future holds. Jirak writes : 

The Watchers is a strong feature debut for Ishana Night Shyamalan. She clearly has an eye for storytelling, and I look forward to her next film (I'd love a sequel!). The writing didn’t always work for me, but I think fans of the book will be happy. Dakota Fanning remains a STAR!

So what about that twist ending? Yes, The Watchers apparently does have one, though just like with her father’s movies, Ishana Night Shyamalan might get some mixed reactions about how well it lands, according to one moviegoer. @The_LifeOfDylan tweets that the movie gives off an eerie vibe, but the twist is bound to be divisive. They write: 

Fresh out of the Premiere of Ishana Night Shyamalan‘s directorial debut The Watchers. While her vision behind the camera & the premise sparks an eerie mood, the Shyamalan family curse continues with a twist that will work so well for some but not at all for others.

X user @Direct_JM , meanwhile, is satisfied with the ending but finds the movie drags a little in the middle. The movie enthusiast writes: 

The movie had a great story and a great twist at the end. The acting was good. But that’s all it really had. The movie felt slow and long as parts. The horror aspect of the movie just wasn’t there.

The writer Beanz is also curious to see what people think of the twist, but overall he feels M. Night Shyamalan ’s influence in his daughter’s creepy storytelling. Like others who have already seen the movie, Beanz says the Irish folklore is a big plus, writing: 

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The apple doesn't fall from the tree with Ishana Night Shyamalan's directorial debut with The Watchers. You can see her father's influence in her storytelling. It's creepy, and the take on Irish lore is interesting enough to keep you engaged. There is a classic Shyamalan twist, and it will be interesting to see whether it pays off when this film hits theaters. Dakota Fanning delivers a great performance.

While Ishana Night Shyamalan is clearly trying to make her own name in the horror realm, it does appear she’s picked up her father’s knack for storytelling and plot twists, so I’m excited to see what the conversation will be after more people watch The Watchers . The upcoming horror movie is set to hit the big screen on Friday, June 14, and be sure to check out our 2024 movie release schedule to see what else is headed our way this summer. 

Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.

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New horror movie The Watchers was inspired by one of the best supernatural thrillers and a very divisive 2009 horror

Exclusive: First-time director Ishana Night Shyamalan drew on a lot of memorable horror movies when making The Watchers...

Ishana Night Shyamalan's debut horror film The Watchers (called The Watched in the UK) 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 Watchers is based on 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. 

A lot of the movies that inspired Shyamalan contain elements of folk horror – or, at the very least – a creepy forest. "I was inspired by The Witch , the textures and the essence of it," the director, who also penned the script for The Watchers, says. Robert Eggers' 2015 debut stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a girl living in the 1630s, who encounters evil forces in the woods outside her family farm. 

It's not the only acclaimed horror film Shyamalan looked to. "It's not kind of in the same genre but we looked at Antichrist a 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 Watchers opens in cinemas on 7 June. 

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For more, check out our guide to all of the upcoming horror movies on the way and our list of the best horror movies of 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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The Watchers

A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatur... Read all A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night. A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night.

• Ishana Shyamalan
• Dakota Fanning
• Georgina Campbell
• Olwen Fouéré

• Mina's Mother

• (as Michelle Hlongwane)

• Younger Boy
• University Student
• Older Brother

• Little Girl
• (as Éabha Connolly)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• When will The Watchers be released? Powered by Alexa
• June 7, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Những Kẻ Theo Dõi
• Blinding Edge Pictures
• Inimitable Pictures
• New Line Cinema
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 1 hour 42 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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‘the watchers’ director ishana night shyamalan on “healthy and wonderful” working relationship with father m. night shyamalan.

Ishana makes her directorial debut with the supernatural horror film, with her dad serving as an executive producer.

By Jaden Thompson

Jaden Thompson

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While some parents try to shield their children from horror movies, you might have a different experience if your father is M. Night Shyamalan . 

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The Watchers follows Mina (played by Dakota Fanning), an artist who finds herself held captive in an isolated house in the woods of Ireland with three strangers; the group is regularly observed by mysterious creatures through one-way glass.

“As a reader, I just felt completely compelled and enamored by the story,” the younger Shyamalan told The Hollywood Reporter . “My brain already was starting to think about what visuals I wanted to play with and what character work I wanted to play with.”

The filmmaker, a 2021 graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, already has some experience directing, having worked on her father’s Apple TV+ series Servant . On The Watchers , M. Night Shyamalan served as an executive producer; multiple cast members emphasized that the Hollywood veteran, while acting as a mentor on set, took a backseat role and allowed his daughter to fully take the reins on this project.

On collaborating with her father, the Watchers director said, “It was awesome. It’s such an interesting thing to have a dad-daughter relationship, and there’s so much intensity and care there. But it’s been so wonderful. He’s a very encouraging artist and producer and he really wants me to do what I want to do and make my mark. So it’s been very healthy and wonderful.”

Also present at the premiere were castmembers Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, Oliver Finnegan and Alistair Brammer.

Fanning was also effusive in her praise of the young director: “I just loved getting to know her as a person, just as a friend. She’s such a wonderful, wonderful person, and so talented and at the beginning of what I know will be a long, bright future and career and so I’m excited to be a part of this debut.”

Looking ahead at her own career, Fanning is open to “maybe” directing in the future, telling THR , “I’ve directed one little short film and it was stressful for sure. It’s a big task and it’s a lot of pressure on you and a lot of weight. It’s a big responsibility. So maybe one day.”

When it comes to Shyamalan’s future projects, the director revealed that she would “absolutely” stay within the genre she’s currently exploring: “I love playing in the horror genre, that’s just what I find to be the most natural to me. I’m really interested in expanding that and sort of going bigger and bolder and blending that with other genres — a little taste of that is what I did in this movie.”

M. Night Shyamalan is of course known for his twist endings, and many cast members hinted that The Watchers would follow suit. Teased the younger Shyamalan, “I’ve always been very interested in subverting what the expectations are.”

The Watchers hits theaters on Friday.

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 If You Love ‘Late Night With The Devil,’ Watch This YouTube Analog Horror Series

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The Big Picture

• Brace yourself for eerie body horror, aliens, and impending doom in the analog horror gem, Gemini Home Entertainment .
• Gemini Home Entertainment delves into extraterrestrial threats, human monsters, and the horror of lost humanity in its unique format.
• Dive into the terrifying world of Gemini Home Entertainment , where deals with alien entities and impending doom leave no one untouched.

Awash in controversy and nail-biting scares alike, 2023's Late Night With The Devil is a frightful entry into the found-footage canon. Its chaotic runtime is led by David Dastmalchian 's bone-chilling performance as Jack Delroy , the charismatic late-night host who is harboring dark secrets behind his camera-ready smile. The film remains a fresh take on the "Lost Television" trope popularized by the online Creepy Pasta fandom. But before Late Night With The Devil terrified audiences, an online horror series paved the way in the analog horror genre. Gemini Home Entertainment is an ongoing YouTube analog horror series created by Remy Abode . Considered a seminal work in the analog horror genre, Gemini Home Entertainment conquers body horror , extraterrestrial threats , and the looming doom of an apocalypse. The series presents its initial tapes in a playlist entitled Full Boxset , with a spin-off series called The Library . Told through an anthology of loosely related tapes, the series follows a variety of human characters who either fight or succumb to the ongoing invasion of human-impersonating monsters and aliens that threaten the world of Gemini .

Late Night With the Devil

A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms.

What Is 'Gemini Home Entertainment' About?

Distributed, in-universe, by the titular entertainment company, each episode in the initial Full Boxset series presents itself as seemingly normal educational content. But it is evident even from its pilot episode, "WORLD'S WEIRDEST ANIMALS," that something is amiss in the world of Gemini Home Entertainment . Something is impersonating humans, burrowing itself into the very crust of the Earth. And what's even more eery is that something has come from beyond. Gemini Home Entertainment connects several stories: A wildlife expert named Jack "Wylder" Dean, notices changes in the local fauna and is amongst the first to resist the invasion. The deal struck between Moonlight Acres Family Camp's administration and the so-called "well-dressed men," aliens who look like men-in-black types that threaten the camp's residents. And the scientific advancements of Harbinge Technologies, a shadowy corporation with mysterious motivations. The anthology series presents no traditional over-arching narrative; instead, it expertly and slowly reveals the horror at the core of its story. Perhaps not immediately comprehensible at first, secondary viewings of the series reveal deeper horrors and tragedies than what is immediately obvious. And where traditional found footage ventures can often feel long and drawn out, the episodic format of Gemini Home Entertainment allows it to take its time while not boring audiences.

Remy Abode told F Newsmagazine that he was inspired by films like John Carpenter 's 1982 sci-fi horror The Thing and David Bruckner's 2018 folk horror The Ritual , as well as popular Creepy Pastas. Gemini Home Entertainment utilizes a multi-medium format to tell its story. After its main narrative is revealed through The Boxset , The Library drops the implication of wide in-universe distribution to delve deeper into the lore of Gemini Home Entertainment . And while most of the story is told through these videos, the series doesn't stop there. Abode also releases images through the Community tab of Gemini Home Entertainment's YouTube channel that are canon to the story. The series' seventh episode, "LETHAL OMEN COMMERCIAL," framed as an advertisement for a fictional first-person shooter , even has an actual playable version of the game available for audiences to explore. Though the main story is by no means inaccessible through the videos alone, Gemini Home Entertainment offers a variety of paths for audience members willing to take them.

‘Late Night With the Devil’ Conjures Up Spooky Blu-ray Box Set

The Shudder found-footage horror film stars David Dastmalchian.

Human-impersonating monsters and body horror isn't all Gemini Home Entertainment has to offer, though. The series also explores the extraterrestrial horror at the center of this invasion, as well as humanity's willful ignorance at their impending end . It isn't a question of if humanity is doomed, but when doom will arrive. The few characters in the series that do fight back are destined to meet their end at the will of the very parasitic beast plaguing the Earth, to begin with. And though all of this is revealed through a very unconventional form of storytelling, the series does not pull its punches.

'Gemini Home Entertainment' And 'Late Night With The Devil' Tackle Similar Themes

Audience members craving more of Late Night With The Devil's possession storyline can rest easy (or uneasy), as they can jump right into Gemini Home Entertainment . Not only do the humans of the series run the risk of being infected with the likes of "Deep Roots Disease" and having their bodies completely taken over by an extraterrestrial parasite, but they also risk being victimized by so-called "Fake People." While the monsters of Gemini Home Entertainment might come from beyond, rather than the demons of Late Night With The Devil come from within, the series still manages a very similar kind of terror. Abode's library of work explores not just the horror of the human body being twisted into something it was never meant to be, but also the horror of being stuck in a body that is no longer your own.

Like Late Night With The Devil, Gemini Home Entertainment also surrounds the horror of d eals with the devil , also known as Faustian bargains. Gemini's entities are less demonic and more alien , but the series dives into how different human factions react to the impending threat. Not every tape in the series is a warning to humanity. Some episodes function as communication between the various entities threatening the world. And, like how the aforementioned Jack Delroy sacrifices his wife's life for the success of his television show, many human characters in the series make bargains with the creatures responsible for humanity's doom. Some make these bargains to survive, some for profit, and some in the pursuit of scientific progress .

Where Late Night With The Devil breaks the immersion key to the found footage genre through its use of more traditional storytelling techniques like expository narration and behind-the-scenes footage, Gemini Home Entertainment trusts its audience. There is no outside context given to the tapes in The Boxset, and even less those present in The Library . But the genius of Gemini Home Entertainment lies in how comprehensible the horror is, even when the details of the plot get a little murky. Enabled by its cryptic medium, the audience participation in unveiling the mystery at the core of the series imbues watchers with the same horrifying passivity as many of the characters. You, the watcher, can no more save this world than its characters can. But like them, you can bear witness.

Full of twists and surprises, Gemini Home Entertainment has far more to offer. Even a single viewing of the original series taps into fresh, yet familiar, horrors. The full body of work might not be for everyone. Some audience members might very well grow tired of trying to decipher the story at the core of the series. But for those who adored the more cryptic aspects of Late Night With The Devil and other found footage features , Gemini Home Entertainment rests beautifully at the intersection of audience participation and heart-racing horror .

Gemini Home Entertainment is available to watch on YouTube.

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