The Watchers parents guide: How scary is the supernatural horror movie?

The 2024 horror movie The Watchers, based on A.M. Shine's novel of the same name, comes from director Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of popular horror filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.

Dakota Fanning stars as a pet store clerk stranded in Dublin's thick forests during a delivery trip. Mina soon discovers the place where her car broke down is home to a bunch of unseen entities that come out during the night, forcing her to take cover with a group of three strangers who have been stuck in the woods for months now.

Whether you're looking for advice on just how scary the movie is because you're not used to horror or because you're considering watching this movie with younger viewers due to its PG-13 rating, we've created a helpful guide to give you an idea of what to expect, with minimal spoilers!

Violence: The movie opens with a man falling from a significant height while running from monsters in the forest. During a few scenes, the titular supernatural entities violently attack the protagonists. At one point, two of the main four characters get into a physical altercation. There isn't actually a lot of violence shown on-screen in this film, as the horror comes more from the threat of what could happen.

Gore: Due to its PG-13 rating, the gore is kept to a minimum in this movie. Toward the end of the film, the creatures rip out the throat of one of the protagonists and stab him, but nothing explicit is shown beyond a bit of blood. An intense car crash scene is shown during a flashback, with one character dying and a little girl getting her fingers caught in the closing window.

Other frightening content: Easily the most disturbing aspect of The Watchers is, well, "the Watchers," these creepy and uncanny-looking supernatural beings would easily terrify a small child, but horror movie veterans have nothing to worry about here.

The entities are shown in limited doses, but the movie has plenty of suspense leading up to their initial reveal as they track the protagonists. Toward the end, we see them more fully with some slight body horror as they move and shape-shift, but again, it's nothing too scary and often leans more into dark fantasy vibes than straight horror.

There is no sex or nudity in The Watchers. In addition to what's listed above, the movie also features some strong language and Dakota Fanning's character is shown vaping.

Does Darwin the bird die or get injured?

While Mina's orange parrot doesn't get hurt or killed, there is a moment where one of the characters hunts and kills a crow.

We hear him snap the bird's neck, though nothing is shown, and it's over quickly. But don't fret—the adorable parrot Mina affectionately dubs Darwin stays safe, and nothing bad happens to him. He even gets to help save the day toward the end.

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