Unveiling the Shadows: Ishana Shyamalan's Visionary Journey into Horror

Nestled within the illegible forests of a film industry strewn with story and sleight of hand is Ishana Shyamalan, a spotlight of unknown discovery, guiding her audience through the labyrinth of horror with her own independent light. And with her debut film, The Watchers (2023), Ishana has stepped out from the shadows of her father and mentor, M Night Shyamalan, to offer her own rhymes with the horror of what only lies ahead of us. We spoke to Ishana about her inspiration, her collaboration and revelation, and how horror has evolved over the decades.

DISCOVERING "The Watchers": An Origin of Trembling Shadows

‘The Watchers’ – the chilling tale that makes up Ishana’s latest project – is a plucky dare to face fear head-on, a reminder of a child’s primal fear, that something invisible is about to intrude on their sense of safety. As we round our conversation, I ask Ishana where the inspiration for this project comes from. She tells me that she’s always been eerily fascinated by the realm of the unseen, coupled with the eerie feeling that horror movies can evoke. This is a homage to that space, Ishana says, an evocation of the creeping dread that shadows our sense of safety, tapping a deep vein in their human psyche.

A CREATIVE ALLIANCE: The Shyamalan Legacy

DISCOVERING Mentorship and Influence

With M Night Shyamalan, a titan of the twist, she found a family member who could provide her with her father’s wisdom, which was to make an exceptional film, one that is so much about moving beyond the traditional narrative and being willing to take chances, and it’s because of him that the film ended up becoming a landscape of tension and unease. Dad’s advice to steer away from the obvious horrors and unearth the things that can exist only in the imagination helped cement the film’s eerie mood.

DISCOVERING Harmony in Collaboration

Despite her father’s legendarily formidable personality, Ishana found the experience ‘really synergistic’ in his versatile collaboration. It’s summed up in moments of disagreement they shared about the visuals, which led to a ‘much richer cinematic story. It was great to share that with my dad… We were really into it together.

SETTING "The Watchers" Apart: A Unique Horror Perspective

‘For me, what makes *The Watchers* terrifying is its atmospheric density, not how many things jump out at you; by making the world as immersive as it is dark, the scares continue to reverberate even after you leave the theatre,’ Ishana tells me. In a genre often accused of favouring shock over substance, she’s bucking the trend.

DISCOVERING the Future of Horror

Looking westward, Ishana is particularly excited for what lies ahead, for horror that is more diverse and more original. ‘I would love for there to be more psychological terror,’ she said. ‘Suspense is also getting more complex and sophisticated because our audience is growing up too.’

Ishana Shyamalan: A New Dawn in Horror

And when we hang up, it becomes crystal clear what a blast Ishana is having introducing her writing to the wider world of horror, a genre that will only grow richer for her contributions, and that will surely be home to many more adventurous, inventive, and downright delightful stories in the years to come, as new and diverse voices like hers begin to make their mark on this particular branch of literature. We thought we’d seen it all, dear reader, but now the fear has truly just begun. As always, thanks for reading, and sweet dreams!

DISCOVERING Ishana Shyamalan

In The Watchers, Ishana Shyamalan has distanced herself from the near-nightmarish legacy of her father, the director M Night Shyamalan, while also making clear that the apple doesn’t fall far from the twisted tree. Making a film that pays her respects, she has also, clearly, carved her own. Through the lens of the ineffable power of the invisible and the unknown, she is poised to refashion the shape of horror for decades to come. In her hands, the future of horror is not just bright. It’s deliciously dark.