The Watched (AKA The Watchers) review – Ishana Shyamalan’s debut shares her father’s talents and flaws

A cursed forest in the west of Ireland is the setting for the feature-film-directing debut of Ishana Shyamalan, the daughter of M Night. Dakota Fanning stars as a young American who finds herself trapped, alongside a band of desperate strangers, deep in the woods inhabited by ancient, vengeful entities that view the humans as light entertainment. On the evidence of this uneven folk horror, Shyamalan shares with her father a knack for crafting atmosphere; the sound design, in particular, is creepily oppressive, all cracking inhuman bones and scratching unseen claws. But she also demonstrates the Shyamalan family trait of leaning on inelegant chunks of exposition and blunt weapon third-act plot ambushes.

In UK and Irish cinemas now