The Watchers Cast and Director Talk Filming in Ireland and Irish Folklore

The Watchers is being released in theatres later this week, and the new horror film is based on the novel of the same name by Irish author, A.M. Shine. In addition to taking place in Ireland, the film is also rooted in Irish folklore. In honor of the project, ComicBook recently had the chance to chat with the film’s director, Ishana Night Shyamalan, in addition to stars Dakota Fanning (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Georgina Campbell (Barbarian). During the interviews, they spoke about working in Ireland and what they learned about folklore.

“I have worked in Ireland before and loved it, I worked in Dublin,” Fanning shared. “So going back was something I was very excited about and I loved that this story was incorporating that folklore and that fairytale kind of mythical vibe. And I think it was something that I felt like I hadn’t seen in a movie in the genre before, of getting to kind of blend the realistic parts and the groundedness with that kind of fairytale magic. And the nature in Ireland is so – it lends itself to the story so much – and really is a character. So yeah, it was really fun to feel like you were in an Irish folk tale.” 

“I feel like I kind of got to know a little bit,” Campbell shared. “Olwen Fouere was really good. She kind of knew a lot about the folklore and had lots of stories to tell. I can’t really remember any of it now. But yeah, I learned a little.”

“I mean, it’s just such a wonderful place,” Shyamalan added. “I was so kind of enamored with just both the culture and the storytelling of the Irish culture, so it was totally cool for me to sort of dive into that mythology and I read a bunch of stuff and it’s just really, really rich and kind of a wonderful story that they sort of have. So it’s just really cool to kind of go into that particular folklore.”

What Is The Watchers About?

The Watchers follows an artist (Fanning) named Mina “who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland.” Mina eventually finds shelter, but she “unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.” 

Joining writer/director Shyamalan behind the camera are director of photography Eli Arenson (Lamb, Hospitality), production designer Ferdia Murphy (Lola, Finding You), editor Job ter Burg (Benedetta, Elle), and costume design by Frank Gallacher (Sebastian, Aftersun). The music is by Abel Korzeniowski (Till, The Nun). The film is produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan, and Nimitt Mankad. The executive producers are Jo Homewood and Stephen Dembitzer.

“Well, it was very much just imagining what the four or five of these people were like, and what they would be like together. Then, as the continual lesson that I learned during the filmmaking process, there’s just a certain alchemy that happens,” the filmmaker revealed during a Q&A in which ComicBook.com was in attendance. “If you’re lucky enough to catch it, you do. With this path, there were all these movements that just led to this group being together. They have such an electric energy when they’re all together. It’s really, really cool. It’s so fun. It felt like theater!”  

The Watchers lands in theaters on June 7th.