Dakota Fanning and The Watched cast reveal truth behind the film's 'spooky' forest

Virgin Radio

7 Jun 2024, 10:02

M. Night Shyamalan's daughter Ishana Shyamalan’s first feature The Watched was filmed in a “spooky” forest, its stars have shared.

But stars Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell and Oliver Finnegan have also opened up about how much fun the Ireland-based shoot was too.

The Watched (or The Watchers in the US) tells the unnerving story of Mina (Fanning) who after getting stranded and lost in an Irish wood finds herself taken into a shelter with three others, where they become trapped and watched by mysterious creatures who stalk them each night.

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Speaking with virginradio.co.uk at a UK special screening of The Watched, Dakota Fanning revealed: “There were definitely times [when filming] in the forest that you felt a little- there was a little spooky energy.

“But also,” she continued, “When you’re making a movie that’s supposed to be scary, you end up having the best time, you have to keep it light.”

This was the case on The Watched, which she described as having been filmed with a “great group of people” who led to “a lot of fun and a lot of fun moments” on set.

Daniel actor Oliver Finnegan agreed. “For sure as you’d expect, it was slightly scary,” he revealed on the red carpet. “Because you’re in the middle of nowhere and you don’t really know where you are!

“But no, it felt amazing!” he added. “We were able to mess about, and it was so chill… The Irish crew are amazing over there… and we had a good time of it.”

Georgina Campbell, who plays fellow trapped stranger Clara, added: “Being in the woods late at night sometimes was a bit creepy.” But again she stressed that generally the atmosphere on set “was really lovely.”

“When the four of us were together, when it was Oliver and Olwen [Fouéré] and Dakota… it was just so enjoyable, and some of those scenes really felt like it was almost a play that we were getting to do.”

Finally, The Watched’s director and writer Ishana Night Shyamalan added that the film’s environments were “definitely” a little “eerie.” 

“But it’s funny,” she added. “The kind of vibe of the crew and the set was just like totally joyous. I think we all kind of felt like kids… so I think it’s wonderful that the kind of impact of what you see on screen is very, very different than the feeling of how we made it.”

The Watched is out now in cinemas.