By Jonathan Klotz | Published
M. Night Shyamalan is either one of the worst directors to ever get behind the camera or a creative genius, depending on who you ask and what film you’re talking about, but no one can argue with the success of his first film The sixth sense. While he is in the process of casting a daughter, Saleka Night CatchHis younger daughter Ishana Night was behind the camera for her first feature film. The Guardianswhich recently debuted on Netflix. In keeping with family tradition, the film has divided the horror community, with opinions almost completely divided, but even the critics admit that Ishana has some of her father’s talent.
A captivating cast
The horror film stars Dakota Fanning as Mina, an American traveling through Belfast whose car breaks down in a spooky forest, where an equally spooky woman tells her to come with him if she wants to live. The woman Madeline (played by Olwen Fouere, who recently appeared in Tarot), takes Mina to a bunker connected to The Coop, a building with a one-way window that allows the strange beings called Watchers to watch her every night. The Guardians is a possible metaphor for streaming on Netflix or binging reality television, but the strange creatures that cannot be caught in the sunlight are clearly dangerous and have bad intentions for the captured cast members.
In addition to Mina and Madeline, Georgina Campbell (known for… Barbarian) as Ciara and Irish actor Oliver Finnegan as Daniel wander around during the day but return to the safety of the bunker and the coop each evening to perform for the Watchers. With the limited cast and locations ranging from The Coop to the Woods and another corner of the woods, it might seem like this The Guardians was a low-budget Netflix original, although in reality it was entirely financed by M. Night Shyamalan. It’s this fact that means some people will have been committed to the film long before its theatrical release, no matter how scary or frightening the premise – and there are some good jump scares.
The problem of nepotism cannot be avoided
Nepotism has become a huge problem in Hollywood lately, even though it has existed in every industry since the dawn of time, but very few directors can have their $30 million first film fully financed by their father. It means exactly that The Guardians It faced an uphill battle to gain attention, and while it wasn’t a huge box office success, it has been in Netflix’s top ten since its debut on the world’s largest streaming platform.
Long before it became a hit on Netflix, The Guardians was a book by AM Shine, and there were some big changes in the transition from page to screen. For one thing, the book never describes what the Guardians look like, while the movie eventually shows them in all their spooky glory, and oddly enough, it’s the book that sets up a sequel, not the movie. There are other changes too, but in true Shyamalan fashion, there is a twist in the story.
The Guardians is currently available on Netflix while you can watch M. Night’s Other Daughter on it Catch on Max. There’s no denying that nepotism played a role in both projects, but it’s also true that there are far worse horrors out there today, like the one mentioned above TarotAnd it’s really worth watching both films and judging for yourself.