Ishana Night Shyamalan's debut feature, The Watched (called The Watchers internationally), is coming to theaters soon, and Dakota Fanning, who plays protagonist Mina, says the movie features things she's never seen before in a film.
Adapted from the novel by A.M. Shine and visually inspired by The Witch and Antichrist, The Watched sees Mina become stranded in a dense Irish forest. It's no ordinary woodland, as inside it there's a strange cabin where other stranded souls are trapped. Each night they must allow themselves to observed by mysterious creatures. As long as they follow the rules, and don't try to escape, there's hope for their survival.
"I really like that it's an Irish fairytale, rooted in folklore and the mythological world," Fanning says of the film. The Ripley actor elaborates that Ireland is a place that's familiar to her and she was glad to go back there to shoot the movie. "I'd worked in Dublin before so I was thrilled to get to go back – I have a lot of friends there."
As for what drew her to the character of Mina, who – no spoilers! – may have a complicated past, Fanning liked blending her grounded story with the supernatural elements of the film.
"I really like how the real humanness of the story is mixed with the unreal, surreal elements, how they're woven together," she explains. "I found it really cool and it felt like something I hadn't really seen before."
As well as starring in The Watched, Fanning has also recently wrapped filming on another horror film, Vicious. Directed and written by The Strangers' Brian Bertino, it's currently scheduled for release in the US on 8 August 2025.
The Watched opens in cinemas on 7 June. For more, check out our guides to all the upcoming horror movies on the way and our picks of the best horror movies of all time.
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