The Watchers, the new horror movie that recently debuted in theaters, has a Shyamalan as its director, but not one whose name you would usually see on the big screen, writes Rosa Cartagena for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Willistown Township’s Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of Bhavna and M. Night Shyamalan, is the family’s second filmmaker who has followed in her father’s footsteps when it comes to her favorite genre.

“Being primed for the horror genre, we were sort of inundated with so much of it as kids,” she said. “It taught me that there can be enjoyment and a lot of emotional depth in the process of feeling scared.”

As one of the couple’s three daughters, Ishana previously directed episodes of her father’s Apple TV show Servant. Her first feature is an adaptation of A.M. Shine’s 2022 novel of the same name.

The movie stars Dakota Fanning as Mina, a troubled American working at a pet shop in Ireland. After she gets lost in the woods one day, she believes she is saved after running into three more people. However, that turns out to be far from the truth.

Read more about Ishana Night Shyamalan getting into the groove of directing in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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