The profoundly creepy sensation of being observed from the darkness underscores The Watchers, Ishana Night Shyamalan's feature debut. However, despite a premise loaded with unsettling potential, the film — adapted from A.M. Shine's eponymous novel — ends up a tremendous bore. We're told, through verbose and plentiful dialogue alone, that this tale is one of deep regret, while Shyamalan's occasionally effective filmmaking hints at other rich thematic possibilities that her movie never seems to grasp.
