The Dakota Fanning Horror Movie Getting A Second Chance On Netflix

Netflix continues to dominate the streaming sphere, and frankly it’s not hard to see why. The streamer pumps out so much so-called “content” that I’m starting to wonder whether half of this stuff isn’t already being generated by some god awful AI. Still, amid the onslaught of media, Netflix put out some pretty good films in 2024, most notably the killer action thriller “Rebel Ridge,” which surely went a long way to helping star Aaron Pierre land the role of John Stewart in DC and James Gunn’s burgeoning shared universe.

Netflix started 2025 strong, too, proving that streaming audiences still know a good film when they see one by delivering Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” to its servers and seeing it shoot to the top of the charts. No doubt the rest of the year will see more of the same quality filmmaking punctuating a sea of otherwise forgettable streaming slush. But as we prepare for the next wave to hit, another acquired movie has been slowly working its way up the charts to ring in the new year. Unfortunately, this latest addition looks to be about as notable as any of the most generic Netflix original films.

2024’s “The Watchers,” an uneven but promising debut from Ishana Night Shyamalan arrived on Netflix at the tail-end of the year, and, despite disappointing reviews, has managed to capture the attention of Netflixers in the U.S.

“The Watchers” stars Dakota Fanning as Mina, a young artist who becomes stranded in an Irish forest where she and three other strangers are stalked by wretched beasts of some sort. Ishana Night Shyamalan wrote and directed the horror film, which is based on A. M. Shine’s 2021 novel of the same name and also stars Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, and Oliver Finnegan. Shyamalan also had a fun role reversal with her famous dad on “The Watchers,” with M. Night Shyamalan actually serving as second unit director for the film.

Sadly, when “The Watchers” debuted in June 2024, it barely made back its own $30 million budget and failed to wow critics. The film then did the theatrical walk of shame from the box office to VOD by the end of the very same month it debuted before hitting the MAX streaming service in August. Not the most auspicious debut for the younger Shyamalan, then. But perhaps her Netflix renaissance will be some comfort?

“The Watchers” hit Netflix on December 30, 2024, and has since proven to be a decent hit for the streamer. According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks streaming viewership across platforms, the movie arrived on the most-watched films chart in the U.S. on December 31, hitting number seven before jumping to number five the following day. After hitting number four on January 2, 2025, “The Watchers” slipped to number eight before making a comeback to reclaim the number four spot as of January 6.

At the time of writing, “The Watchers” is being challenged for its number four position by two “Despicable Me” movies. What’s more, if the film is to remain in the most-watched charts in the U.S., it will have to contend with the other movie to hit Netflix at the end of 2024: Kevin Costner’s own box office bomb, “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1.” The Western is currently in the number two spot in the U.S., just behind Ron Howard’s 2015 historical drama “In the Heart of the Sea,” which currently sits atop the Netflix charts.

If Ishana Night Shyamalan is going to see this Netflix reprieve all the way through to the end, then, she’ll have to topple both Howard, Costner, and George Miller, whose “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is currently at number three on the U.S. charts. Unfortunately, a 32% score on Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t bode all that well for “The Watchers” in that regard. Critics took Shyamalan to task for essentially trying to recreate the tone and appeal of her father’s films but falling short, despite some arresting visuals and a knack for the jump-scare. That said, it’s not as if any of us turn to Netflix for the most cerebral, or even the best quality, entertainment, so I suppose “The Watchers” has as much chance of hitting number one as anything else. Solana Token Creator