Before and After reviews episode 88: The Watchers

what is this place who are you we're just like you lost [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] just another [Music] movie hello everybody and welcome to the show we are just another movie night and I am Scott with me is Joe Hey Joe hey Scotty how you doing today I'm better now just got off a traffic jam yeah yeah I know I'm exasperated this is what we do we run to see movies for some strange reason but this is before and after reviews and uh this is where we go see a brand new movie in the theater and give our thoughts before and after and today we are seeing the Watchers the Watchers the Watchers a horror movie of sorts is it yeah I don't one of those mystery thriller horror movies that you know here's the thing it's it's directed and produced by uh ight shyamalan's daughter you can say her name come on I know you have it in you I know you do you can say it you going to pronounce it what is it I don't know her name do you yes you do I I don't know it either on no I do know what let me let me do it let me do it I got this so it starts Dakota Fanning and it's directed by aana shalaman okay aana I like how you threw it on the gauntlet you didn't know it yourself well no I just thought you weren't saying it because you can't pronounce it but it's I was telling you that you've got this and I didn't even have it so yeah she worked on um he's got a TV show that he was doing I think she worked on that and she worked as his assistant director on Old so I I mean this is like her first feature length movie I believe and um that's the problem here will she follow in her Father's Footsteps and the debate about is her Father's Footsteps a good goal or a bad goal because I think it's debated people of a certain age grew up with certain movies of his and think it's his best we are on the fence of saying he is one of those directors that has the best steady decline of film making I've ever seen yes I agree yeah he's like a roller coaster ride he went from the top his first movie you know his first big movie um six sense um being his top his best and then every movie under that good getting worse and then dropping completely to the bottom with a few films um namely uh The Last Airbender and what other one we can think of that we hated old I hat well that's the roller coaster ride because he came back with the village and we're very on the fence of how we felt and old again is like a drop again because the village was like maybe this is a step in the right direction glass was step maybe in the right direction he was starting to work upward so he made glass and then he was like visit and you're like oh maybe he's coming back and then find that one that's what I'm saying yeah the visit and glass are both on um not glass um split split split and villager both like and then he made again he made old and then he made glass and everybody's like oh my God the last one was a knock at the cabin and again with the knock on the cabin where we're all confused of do we like his movies and we don't think we do and it's very sketchy about how we feel about his movies in general I'm pretty sure that he is a very he is so self-absorbed in his filmmaking that he can't help but put himself in of films He makes himself like a deity it it's kind of gotten to the point where I can't stomach it but I also can't wait to see his movies like it's some kind of experience I know he's got that new one coming out trap with Josh hartnet yeah but aside from this this is his daughter we're hoping that she doesn't do some of the annoying things in her film making that he does which is what you just mentioned that's all I'm hoping for like I literally have no expectations for this although I know I just know that there's going to be some sort of twist that's that's what I was getting at uh will she follow in her Father's Footsteps is what I was saying will she do his tropes will she um gain because when I saw the trailer for this movie I went oh this is just that um people are the same all over from The Twilight Zone where in the Twilight Zone episode of the that name a a couple astronauts crash on a planet they think they're on alien planet and they see some humanoids and they put them in a room and they say oh everything's fine and then they realize they're in a zoo that they're humans being put in a zoo and they're being looked at like they're animals I love that episode and that's how exactly how this movie trailer feels and I can't expect much from it because that's what it feels like except it feels like it's got more of a monster movie kind of vibe to it like a Creature Feature but knowing shyamalan's involved and knowing it's his daughter will it be that twist heavy nonsense yeah I think so yeah exactly and so really wanting to see it just because of that nonsense all I that's how I'm tackling this I I want to see these movies because I'm always fascinated by the possibility of a good film but also the possibility of what can this be can this be worse than I imagin and I kind of love seeing movies for that reason I I don't know why it's that weird critical Viewpoint M I don't know if uh you agree with that but it there's something to seeing these movies yeah it's intriguing I mean I'm not going to lie especially since we love watching bad movies we go into his movies thinking okay this is this is going to be a piece of crap I mean I'm just expecting it I'm expecting it I'm sorry at this point I definitely am expecting it but since this is his daughter maybe she wants to do her own thing and like build herself up into her own person and you know I'm sure she's going to take some hints from her father and that's the point yeah she worked on Old for God's sakes so I know well okay well we can only hope for the best I mean I literally I'm not I don't even want to tell you what I'm going to come out of this movie with at score-wise because I think it's going to be very low but I'm very intrigued by this number one because I really do like Dakota Fanning yeah yeah I do too I like her a lot and I'm going to this movie because she's in it otherwise I'd be like all right we'll see it on streaming well it's also a horror movie and and when we we always go to the chance to see a horror movie experience in the theater true we like standing up for these types of movies we'd like to see all movies in the theater because we like to support the theater and support the film industry but yes you know I don't want it to go away and uh that's why I'm always ready to run to these things even if they're going to be you know I hear people going uh the theater experience I don't there's nothing worthy anymore you're going to kill this thing like why let's support it it's weird but uh yeah let's uh go check this out I'm pretty sure we're probably going to be funny when we come back from this thing I mean I'm rooting for her I don't want it to be you know I I want her to have her own career as a director and I want her to succeed yeah I'm not wishing any ill on her I really do want her to succeed so I hope this movie is is enjoyable yeah all right let's go check it [Music] out they come every night they watch us until the sun rises again it's a window on the other side they'll be very interested in someone new what is that what are they doing Applause for you Mina hello everybody we're back we saw a movie we saw a movie indeed we saw a movie called Watchers the Watchers the Watchers movie Yes okay directed by aana shyaman and this is based on a book by am shine how long was this movie Joe an hour and 42 minutes okay I felt every single moment of that hour and 42 minutes I thought this was a 2 and a half hour movie at one point I was like wow this is not ending wow okay I didn't get that you didn't no this movie I felt like it could have ended five times H every time it went on again I was like oh a new scene oh wow we're still going with it I I was I I I didn't really feel the runtime well I'm very surprised yeah I mean we saw this movie and I we we had in the beginning we we we thought like will um she hit all those tropes of her father you know there's always that idea when um somebody uh grows up in like in the shadow of their father as a filmmaker you particularly pick up tropes and stuff like that or you try to you know cut your own path by making a horror movie or mystery or any of those things you're kind of already following in his footsteps so I mean there was that question there so I'm going to ask you do you feel the Shyamalan Trend in this film 100% yeah I do too and and that's a huge sad thing because you kind of want want her to make her own path you know come up with her own ideas or follow a I will say this I will give her credit she was following a book so it wasn't a brand new script right you know it was a someone else's idea which is good usually shamalan is known for coming with his own ideas yeah I think she adapted this though for the screen so yeah she adapted it yeah and but she was following Source material yes and that's what I saying it wasn't her original idea and I will say that's funny because okay I'm a huge Lost TV fan are you a huge Lost TV fan it's my favorite show ever it's my favorite show too A lot of people disagree with us those people I don't know if I understand you but I will say we love it so I could not help but think about that show while watching this movie it's very easy to do in fact I would believe that she is also a big fan of it because many elements from that show appear and at one point I actually leaned over I don't know if you heard me I said what's with the Lost references mhm I I caught a couple that I thought were interesting number uh there was hieroglyphics at one point very reminiscent of an episode and lost and then it kept going with that and there was a bigger part to it no spoilers here of course we try not to spoil the movies at all but there is a feeling of that show in this movie while also trying to be its own thing now would you say it's successful at being that thing I think it was successful at that yes you thought it was successful at being the it's like a sub genre we can't talk about it of course because it's all spoilers but there's a subgenre of horror that this movie seems to um kind of revolve around mhm um which it doesn't tell you for a very long time you got to figure it out and your mind will play tricks on you of like oh it's it's this MH I will say that you know that subg genre is is odd because I feel like I've seen a lot of films tackling it not in the recent years I feel like we keep watching movies I'm like oh that's very reminiscent oh that we're doing this again huh but you thought it was successful so I thought it was yeah and there was a time in the movie theater where you leaned over to me and you whispered something and um you were wrong about that so I was like oh okay cuz usually you you are dead on balls accurate I'm going to say I was dead balls dead on balls accurate about it but I was mistaken on what okay I knew something had occurred and I knew we were going there I just didn't know it was the thing that it was because we weren't given enough information okay we could talk about that off pod but I'm going to say that I don't think you 100% knew what the ending of this film was going to be like you didn't oh no way there there is there is oh I knew the ending was going to be oh once we were told what was going on in the movie I knew I thought the ending was so insanely predictable okay and I was going to lean over and I was just like nah and I actually leaned over to you at the end I near the end I said don't be shocked yeah and I wasn't cuz I knew it was so obvious I that's one of my huge things about this movie is I feel like once you start getting going I you can't help but notice this one important Trope in movies like this and shamalan is in him you know her father is also very known for this characters don't ask questions and it's not because the characters are you know like the characters don't want to say those questions it's that the writer doesn't want to ask those questions because it'll spoil plot of course and so this is one of those movies that you will I I mean from I'm can only talk myself of course but I was completely frustrated because I'm like you're not no one's going to say anything we're just going to keep cutting past no dialogue no no no drama no suspense because obviously if we talk too much we'll figure out things out quicker mhm I mean that's just that's not a specific filmmaker thing that's like all filmmakers things it's like they don't want to ask questions they don't want the characters to be inquisitive or ask the right questions because then you know there's no movie I wouldn't I would say completely the opposite because I think a lot of good filmmakers know that that's a cheap out like a cop out and to have questions and have drama and have people act like real human beings there's a way out of it there's plenty of good movies we've seen uh let's just take it like Jurassic Park right Jurassic Park is a very loved franchise and they have an entire scene where we see like character seeing the dinosaurs for the first time right and they instantly start asking questions how you know I need to know everything and then they have a debate around the table about what are the ramifications now in a movie that would be by Shyamalan they would have cut all of those questions out like the conversations I mean and there's no twist in in Dr spark so maybe it's a bad uh analogy but my point is you create drama and you make characters feel real to get them to the twist mhm you know um okay I I don't know it's a it's a really old movie so I guess it doesn't I I can say spoilers but uh Jacob's Ladder is a good analogy of a a guy who's asking questions he's like what what is happening to me am I going insane and he's talking to people about it and you can't help but a good it's a good movie because you can't help but question everything you're seeing throughout the movie which is good development good character design characters are still acting like human beings they would be questioning things they would be like asking all the important things they they would be reacting to things and then you see movies like this where the characters don't react to anything they only react when the movie tells you it's time to react to something that that bothers me I think that's really really bad like setup and D like if you remove the drama and the suspense then we really don't nothing can affect us later on you have to have that buildup you have to make us feel like we're watching real people in these moments mhm and this movie completely does not do that for me okay you you were feeling the opposite well I did not hate this movie I I actually kind of sympathized a little bit with Dakota Fanning even though she you're right you're right she wasn't uh like anyone else would have been totally Bonkers in a situation like this like losing their minds I mean I know I would she was kind of eerily calm about the situation and that led me to believe that she has been through something in her life before and I was like okay so I kind of was going through the motions with her and I didn't mind it some of the other characters in the movie not so much I I really couldn't connect with any of them yeah but I I did connect a little bit with her like I I didn't mind her I I thought that her character was okay and I like the dark undertones this movie I thought it was there were so many creepy things going on in it but it was kind of unintentional like I don't think that she was really going for that level of creep but when it I guess maybe because I look at things differently cuz I'm a horror fan where like I see creepy and the strangest things are you're talking about Dakota Fanning's character's background like stuff that she's doing throughout the movie Yes like how I can't give away spoilers but just how her her character was so easily like just ready to jump you know ready to jump into things ready to just you know fly by the seat of her pants and and not use caution at all I was kind of intrigued by her yeah and I felt and I have a problem with that because I feel like the character is conflicting with the with the character that they show you and then she starts doing things and you're like this is a character who would do things H or this is a character who wants to be someone else and I'm like then be some like there's a whole I I I don't know if it was done it's it's interesting because it's supposed to be a parallel but the movie doesn't do anything with it and it feels like that parallel is completely squandered there is a really cool um I would actually say the opening stuff not the opening like setup scare thing that I hate when movies do I don't like when you jump forward in a movie and you show something that occurred just so you can get people in the seats to go oo scary movie you know I like when a movie starts with a character and we learned about that character and then that character we see the events through that character for the first time that's a that's a good setup I liked everything that was set up with her and I didn't know while like we get to the end of the movie I kept kept thinking to myself was that all red herring just to make us confused as to what was happening it almost wanted to be another movie and then decided no and I found that very confusing with The Narrative of the whole film okay there's a lot in this because this is also one of those movies that I find another completely just really pisses me off is that when you walk away from it you have so many more questions that didn't get answered like why wasn't anybody asking about this how was that done well how did this work why does that work how how it possibly could have done this you know who did this like like who made little skeletons on signs why would they do that yeah you know and and I'm like it's that kind of silliness that you can't help but like pick apart and I don't like that we we are also watching a show Co from on Apple um I believe it's on Apple going to bring that up yeah yeah very reminiscent of that because that show also is like it thinks it's being smarter and bigger than it is while also being really dumbed down to the point where characters don't react like human beings no one is acting like a human people are like just being spontaneous and then the director or the the editor or whatever will cut away from moments that are interesting right like the questions like we know we need some answers our character will finally say you got to tell me what happened and then the person will just stare at them with dramatic pause and then they'll cut to another character somewhere else and then when they go back to those characters it's like that never happened yeah and I'm like that's that's just irritating and I and I don't like that and I feel like this movie overall had a huge problem where it might have had a clever idea or a clever horror hook with an interesting character who's also I like Dakota Fanning she's a good actress um I think that they had something in her but the problem is it didn't connect with that overall plot that scheme and when it got to the ending it just went on and on and I was like the only reason to do this I don't know I mean there was a part of me that was like what is this sequel baiting but or is this a it doesn't feel like it finalizes it just just feels like it keeps going and there were so many times where the movie was like and here's another scene and here's another scene and here's another thing and I was like holy like I'm I'm just you could have just cleverly ended on a Twist or or a a stinger and I think I would have been fine because like I we already said kind of saw it coming so it wasn't that big of a deal when it kept going with it I was like I don't care yeah that's just me and also you did point out this and I have to say something about this too the actors so the actors are their own they also and this is an issue too like we were already talking about how characters don't feel like real people these characters also feel like cartoon versions of people like you know you have the one you kind of have to hit at these things like the worried person but then you have like the guy who's overly acting like he's Sinister like he can't stop making horror faces and I'm like why is this here I thought that they were kind they kind of seemed like Android is you know like they're they were so kind of mechanical and just very robotic in everything that they did yeah and it it led me on a different path I started to think other things about say red herrings this is a thing make think something else so I was like okay and I kind of lost the Intrigue on them probably halfway through I was like okay I I don't want to do this anymore um with these people with these particular characters yeah um but I I felt like I did like the tone of the movie I thought it was creepy I liked it um like I guess the only one of the another if I had to gripe about it was way too long like you said and I feel like they could have added a little bit more like some backstory some reasoning I I feel like there wasn't any yeah there was a there's like um a character thing I was talking about when that gets revealed it it just feels like it's another movie mhm inside the movie and I'm like I don't know is this a conflicting tone or to Clash of two ideas smashed into each other that don't really gel I couldn't help but see like yeah it's not jelling this is not connecting like yeah like I I kind of was feeling through the whole movie why were these four people chosen you know what I mean like there's four people and I'm like wait okay so we know don't spoil it too much no no no but I'm like okay maybe there is a reason Dakota Fanning is there but what about the other three I need some answers here there was really nothing these are questions and that's exactly what I was saying there are multiple problems uh I did I I will say though I did really enjoy this setup I really enjoyed the opening setup with her I thought that was great I keep thinking about little elements that they did that were clever and I think it kind of gets smashed in the end of the whole thing when it when it comes to the ending you look at the beginning I always say that like sometimes uh directors have like they have an idea right and they go I have some clever camera shots and I have some ideas oh this scene and they come up with the whole idea of how they want the scenes to look but then halfway through they start getting bored with it mhm and I feel like this is that movie like there is some stuff here that is like intentional directing intentional camera stuff and I'm like that that's actually really smart really clever I like where they're going with this I wonder how this is going to play out and then at the end you're kind of like okay now it's a now it's like we just want to get this I just want to get out of this because now it's not the drama like the uh psych like psychological drama that I won yeah kind of drag you through the mud a little bit yeah it's it's a little weird um I'm I'm interested because you're saying you sound like you liked it way better than I did so I think I did like it better than you I I really didn't mind this film like I I thought I was going to come out just you know just hating it but I feel that it wasn't the worst movie ever I think that it was competent in its directing the acting was not bad I I I like Dakota Fanning I think she did a good job and um I like the Intrigue behind this movie like maybe it went on a little too long yes maybe there were some things that could have been you know cut out or or fixed you know like maybe mended a couple of things you know like just fix that up a little but I I didn't hate this movie I I really think that there was a lot of intrigue here and I like the tone of it it was dark and you know in a forest and it was creepy yes I do have many questions and there are many similarities to other properties that we love but it like I said it was adapted from a book I think for her first directorial debut I think she did great and I don't feel like you know annoyed for having seen this so I'm going to give it a six okay that's interesting I I I agree with you on her directing and I do think there was some really interesting stuff going on here and I'm wondering what happened at the last half because it kind of lost that really um visual Edge that she had in the opening uh yeah I do agree I feel like it's a start of a good director problem is I don't think this movie was marketed well at all um and I also think that um no one was in our theater but that's the new trend um so I don't know if this will do her any favors going forward if this movie doesn't make money but she does have um she does seem to have a really good eye mhm and I would like to see her go forward and maybe do something a little more or edgier you know a little less of because you know I guess when we see movies it depends on your taste of horror movies or your taste of a certain type of a genre and I I'm one of those people who's like I really like psychological stuff I really like deeper weird if you're going weird and you're building and you're just doing like character stuff I'm all in yeah you know I like stuff like the Witch and stuff like that I like that it doesn't need to be a big film it could be very subtle it could be very easy it could just be a good film with good characters I like to see her do more stuff like that first interested I'm interested in anything that she does going forward I will watch whatever movie she makes we're going to see all movies anyway for sure but you know I'm just saying that you know yes this the end of this movie was a little wobbly and went on too long but overall I feel like it was a competent film I mean maybe it wasn't the plot that we all wanted or were expecting or you know well that's the thing we really wanted to see you know surprise us yeah I don't really I didn't really have an idea I I think we in the opening I said that it felt reminiscent in the trailer of Twilight Zone episode mhm and that is absolutely there and that's what I went in with in my head I thought that it was going to be that so when it turned out to be something different I was like oh okay so yeah it it was still a surprise yeah in some ways you I mean I yeah yeah when I saw it I was like okay that's the answer all right you know I I can't be as forgiving as you are I'm definitely giving this a five I feel like it's extremely mediocre okay uh I feel like there was a it it the perfect five because it's on that touch of ah this isn't working out so it can be lower but then I kept going there is a touch here of something better it just never gets to either side so I'm perfectly going to have to land in a five I I I couldn't find myself ever watching this again okay well if it was on TV and I happen to be like you know cleaning the house or like crafting or whatever I wouldn't I wouldn't turn it off no I I thought it was competent so and and I didn't hate it and it was it was fine I mean I I didn't have a great time like it wasn't a hoot but it also wasn't a stinker and we know stinkers so yeah I'm going to stick with my six cuz I mean if I don't say six it's a high five and we don't do points so high five high five all right so what you're telling me right now is you're not going to go seek out Return Of Living Dead instead of watching this if it was on Netflix tomorrow how dare you yeah you're going to watch returnal Living Dead is like exactly and that's my point yeah so anyway we got a five and a six uh all right any last party thoughts no no I say you know go check this one out I mean try and get some money in the theater so don't we don't lose our freaking theaters especially since people always about more original stuff yeah you know oh oh less uh reboots and remakes and then when they like the original horror movies come out no one sees them although I will say with a a violent nature we saw last I was a little surprised people turned out for that movie it actually made like $3 million I you know what good for them you know that's pretty decent for an independent movie that you know from shudder yeah that's true I like seeing shudder put more movies out but yeah go see go see IND go see horror movies anyways go see movies anyways who cares got to support the theat fun time man just get the movie pass and you don't have to pay much like we don't but yeah thanks for listening everybody uh have a good one and oh oh we're on social media too Joe is at the crafty Misfit and I am on we both on Instagram of course and I'm a just another movie night so uh tell us your thoughts if you saw the movie love to hear it thanks again have a good night don't you want to know what they are that's impossible [Music]