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S3:E10 The Watchers (2024 Film)
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It’s Spooky Month, and our first title of the month is A.M Shine’s haunting horror novel The Watchers—and its eerie 2024 film adaptation starring Dakota Fanning and Georgina Campbell. In this episode, Keri guides us through the shadowy threads between page and screen, exploring what the movie nailed, what it missed, and whether either version truly delivered the spine-tingly scares we were hoping for.
Hosted by Keri with co-hosts Lindsey and Crystal.
Links to Books & Adaptations Discussed in this Episode:
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Question of the Episode:
- If the Watchers were spying on you, what's the strangest part of your daily routine they would catch?
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book—see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(02:32) Ratings and Non-Spoiler Discussion
(07:34) Book vs Movie Breakdown (SPOILERS)
(46:44) Final Verdict
(47:28) Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Based on a Book' Podcast
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome fellow dwellers of the forest. We're based on a book, the podcast that picks a title after watching only five seconds of its movie trailer. I'm Carrie and when I say the podcast, it's really just me.
00:00:19
Speaker
I'm Lindsay and I prefer haunted manor gothic horror. And I'm k Crystal. If I hear a strange noise in the woods, no, I didn't.
October's Spooky Theme Announcement
00:00:29
Speaker
If you saw on our socials where we drop our schedule and fun podcast episode and theme trailers, October's theme is spooky.
00:00:38
Speaker
And our first official title of the theme is My Pick, which is The Watchers by A.M. Shine. And it's 2024 movie adaptation starring Dakota Fanning.
Film Debut by Shauna Knight Shyamalan
00:00:49
Speaker
This one is pretty unique as it is Shauna Knight Shyamalan director debut. That's lot to say. As a full movie and it is produced by her father, which a lot of people know, M. Knight Shyamalan. He may sound very familiar.
00:01:11
Speaker
Directed films like Sixth Sense, The Village, Split, and Signs. Are guys fans of... M. Night Shyamalan. you guys like a lot of his movies?
00:01:23
Speaker
I actually do. enjoyed them. Sixth Sense was huge when I was in high school. So yeah. I feel like it's either like you really like them or you don't.
00:01:34
Speaker
I always hear like there's never an in between. ah One of my favorite movies has always been The Village. That one scared me to death. That one is terrifying.
00:01:45
Speaker
yeah So scary.
A.M. Shine: Author Background
00:01:47
Speaker
A little bit about the author. A.M. Schein is a literary horror author from West of Ireland, has a master's in history.
00:01:56
Speaker
He graduated from the University of Galway, which is actually where some of the movie was filmed, where they're at the university. He's very into Irish folk horror and gothic horror.
Plot Synopsis of 'The Watchers'
00:02:08
Speaker
The Watchers specifically that we're going to be talking about today is about a woman trapped in an ancient Irish forest and she stumbles into a shelter with three other strangers where every night unseen creatures watch their every move.
00:02:26
Speaker
Their routine keeps them alive, but breaking that routine could be the end of them.
Hosts' Critique of 'The Watchers'
00:02:32
Speaker
So let's get into our book ratings, starting with Crystal.
00:02:39
Speaker
Oh no. Yes.
00:02:44
Speaker
i just, I, want I wanted this to be good. i love folk tales. I love dark Fae stories or of fairies or whatever.
00:03:00
Speaker
this I gave red flags because I mean, honestly, there were a lot of red flags heading into this forest and she should have turned back.
00:03:12
Speaker
But other than that, it was like the twists were not, they were just so predictable. It was so predictable. i felt like I was being spoon fed the story and it I wanted it to be good.
00:03:28
Speaker
and it had so much potential and it just didn't hit there for me.
Book vs Movie: Adaptation Differences
00:03:35
Speaker
Yeah. What about you, Lindsay? I feel the exact same way. I really wanted to like this so bad.
00:03:42
Speaker
But I gave it two and a half golden conures.
00:03:48
Speaker
So ah I love some gothic horror, but like I said in my intro, i apparently I only like the haunted manor type. I didn't really dig this. hmm. ah Well, apparently we're all on the same page because I gave it two and a half rules.
00:04:06
Speaker
i I thought this was so freaking boring. I was falling asleep as I was reading it. Literally falling asleep. I had to pick up the audio book because i was falling, like physically reading it, I was falling asleep.
00:04:23
Speaker
And it's supposed to be like so suspenseful. And honestly, it had a lot of potential, like you said, like the folklore aspect of it and everything. I felt like this was... And I like being like trapped in like a forest and trying to like get out.
00:04:41
Speaker
like That is like up my alley. like I really like that stuff. And ancient forests where there's things in here can't be explained. Right, like some sort of curse or something. Yeah.
00:04:53
Speaker
So that is really something that I love to read about. But this one just was not it. Just not very good in my opinion and not very exciting.
00:05:07
Speaker
So, which is really disappointing because i had high hopes for it from that, you know, five seconds I watched of that movie. I mean, i read a bit of the synopsis before we jumped into the book because I was afraid it might be too scary.
00:05:24
Speaker
h And when I saw kind of the subject matter, I actually got excited. i was like, oh, wait, this could be really good. Yeah. And so I was, I legitimately was excited for this one and then just...
00:05:37
Speaker
Yeah, it didn't do. And there were parts of the book that I was like, oh, this might be interesting. Nope, it's not interesting. Oh, this could be good. Nope, it's not good. Oh, I should be scared, but I'm not.
00:05:49
Speaker
You know, it just didn't didn't hit. There were lots of plot holes. Yep. Like, I knew the twist from, like, literally the very beginning. Yep.
00:06:01
Speaker
Even the clueless detective knew the twist. Yeah, that that's a That's a red flag right there. right he Yeah, that's when you know it's going downhill. And honestly, it was being, it was compared to something that attracted to me to it was it was compared to like Blair Witch Project, Bird Box, you know, like those two things I i really enjoy.
00:06:25
Speaker
um but just, yeah, just not very exciting. But I did have a little bit of higher hopes that maybe the movie adaptation could turn it around for me.
00:06:38
Speaker
ah Just because sometimes when you're reading something that's like right not as exciting on page, someone can turn it into something that could would be more exciting for your eyes to see on the screen. Or even with ah with a creepy soundtrack. or you know like i was kind of hoping that myself too, that the movie would be like have a little bit more suspense to it or a little bit more of a thrill. So i after reading the book...
00:07:07
Speaker
I was like, well, you know, this the story, maybe the potential that was in the story is better on screen, especially with the Night Shyamalan's involved in it. Like that could be because it seemed the the story seems like their vibe, you know?
00:07:26
Speaker
huh Yeah, like the backbone was there for sure. But now let's go in get into some spoilers. Please. Let's break down the book and the movie.
Prologue: Setting up Mina
00:07:40
Speaker
All the spoilers. So from here on out, we will be talking about all the content, all the twists that are involved. So if you don't want to hear any of the twists moving forward, pause now, go read the book, or maybe not.
00:07:54
Speaker
Watch the movie. come back and come hang out with us or just listen to it. Listen to our episode and just hear us talk about all the twists and what happened because it might be a little more exciting.
00:08:11
Speaker
Okay, I would say starting with just overall vibes of the entire adaptation as a whole, I would say that the movie is somewhat faithful To the book, with some exceptions, you know, they take some liberties in the story overall. This is a horror movie, but it is PG-13. It's not rated R. I usually like a horror movie that's rated R, personally.
00:08:47
Speaker
I don't know what content really... Like from the book, I don't see where it could have translated into rated R because there really wasn't much there. Yeah, there's not a ton of gore. There's not significant amounts of violence.
00:09:01
Speaker
You know, it's it's just the suspense really that makes this creepy or supposed to be creepy. so Yeah, I would definitely say that this is a much more mild horror, like psychological, I guess.
00:09:15
Speaker
yeah So what do you guys think about how faithful it was overall to the book and how it was the adaptation in a sense?
00:09:27
Speaker
ah For me, I think like some of the smaller changes they made, like in Mina's job or, you know, like Mina being American,
00:09:41
Speaker
didn't really bother me. it was It seemed like it didn't really affect the plot. At all. In my opinion. But there was a significant change. In the character Madeline. hu That I noticed. just Just her character in general. Was different.
00:09:59
Speaker
A little bit more. Caring and considerate. At times during the movie. Than she was in the book. That I found. Weird. But I don't.
00:10:13
Speaker
Weird. Yeah. yeah There was one change that they did for Mina in the very beginning. And I have a theory, but I don't want to say what the theory is because it kind of spoils something at the end.
00:10:31
Speaker
So I'll come back to it once we get to the end. But I have a theory about a change they did with Mina. Okay. Interesting. So at the whole setup,
00:10:42
Speaker
Very similar in both the book and the movie. We are in Ireland and it begins with the same prologue. basically same type of beginning with a man lost in a forest and having this dread that night is coming. The dark is coming because that's when the quote, the watchers come.
00:11:04
Speaker
We don't know what this is. We don't know what this means, but he's running from something. And he's also indicating kind of like, he's trying to find a way out because there's other people that are relying on him because of he's trying to find his way out of this forest. Yeah.
00:11:19
Speaker
Eventually night falls and something snatches him.
00:11:26
Speaker
Honestly, this beginning part immediately draws me into the book. Personally, I feel like it's like super effective of i'm like, what the hell is going on?
00:11:38
Speaker
i immediately want to know more about the story. And
Character Analysis: Mina
00:11:43
Speaker
honestly, at this point, I was like, okay, this I have high hopes at this point. What do you guys think? Were you guys feeling the same exact way?
00:11:49
Speaker
Yeah. i I was like, okay, this is... this Because, again, that that suspense was translating better on screen at this point. And I was like, okay, here we go. Here we go. Mm-hmm.
00:12:02
Speaker
Yeah. Lindsay, you said you feel the same? Yeah. Even in the book, when I when i read the the prologue, I was like, oh, this is really interesting. And then as soon as I got to chapter one, I was completely lost. I was like, wait a minute.
00:12:15
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, so we jump to a different character who was our main character, of the entire story, um who is Mina, played by Dakota Fanning in the movie.
00:12:27
Speaker
Mina is an artist. um She is also like kind of financially struggling. She is very isolated in her life from her sister after her mother's death. She's very much to herself, sells her art to make ends meet, and like does other little odds and ends type things.
00:12:45
Speaker
In the movie, she works like at a pet shop. Also shows her going out at night dressing as a different person just to pretend to be someone else for a day, which I thought was kind of interesting.
00:12:58
Speaker
But... but In the book, she's like she sees herself in the mirror and she draws herself and she doesn't like who she is. she doesn't like what she sees. But we don't really get to see that side of the artist side of Mina in the beginning of the movie. And so I think that's what that whole like being someone else was supposed to represent. That like she's not comfortable as herself. She doesn't like herself.
00:13:22
Speaker
She
Introduction to Survival Rules and Characters
00:13:23
Speaker
wants to be someone else. Yeah.
00:13:26
Speaker
But I think it was kind of important in the book. This is when it's I felt like I started to be spoon-fed in the book. Was her talking about what she sees in other people's faces and what she sees in her face and what she doesn't... you know And this is when I went, oh, okay.
00:13:43
Speaker
I started spotting things like instant in this part and then got really bored. Because, again, i was being spoon-fed. Yeah. i I do like...
00:13:54
Speaker
how Dakota Fanning played this character. i i enjoyed her acting as Mina and I felt, I don't know. I kind of felt more connected to Mina in the movie than I did in the book.
00:14:16
Speaker
Yeah, I can agree. Yeah, I can see that. I do like, I also like how she talked to the bird. in in the movie like we see like she talks about the bird in the book kind of because we're we're in her perspective but in the movie she just spoke to the bird and i really kind of liked that seems dumb but like the the bird is a person you she eventually mina accepts a job to transport a parrot which this essentially drives the story where it leads her to the forest that we were at in the very beginning where her GPS takes her there.
00:14:57
Speaker
And, and whenever she gets to the forest, her GPS completely shuts down. Her car shuts down, radio shuts off, and she's stuck in the middle of this forest.
00:15:09
Speaker
And honestly, whenever she has in the movie, with her GPS taking her, it literally has her in the middle of of the forest to the point that it almost looks like a walking path. And I'm like, honestly, if my GPS was taking me in this way, I'm like, where is the alternate route?
00:15:25
Speaker
Like I'm not going this way. No, absolutely not. In the book, she actually spends a night in the car and she hears a screech in the forest, but she's like safe in the car.
00:15:40
Speaker
Because she's not technically in the forest yet, but she's like on a path next to the forest. well She also hides under her jacket or something in the back seat with the bird. So she's not completely visible.
00:15:52
Speaker
I don't know if that also may be affected. Yeah. um And then the next day she goes looking for help with her parrot. Her parrot is like her companion throughout this entire book.
00:16:05
Speaker
I liked in the book she called him the yellow one. Yeah, I really liked That's what we call little. Aww. That's cute ah oh I don't hate in the movie that she named him, but I just kind of was like, why didn't she just stick with the yellow one? Yeah, she named him like Darwin. Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:26
Speaker
But in the movie, she immediately gets out of the car, like the second it shuts down to go look for help with her parrot. But then in the forest, you know, it's getting dark. And the movie, it's much more dramatic. You know, whenever it's getting dark, all the animals are, you know, you're not hearing any animals, flock of birds flying over and out of the forest every single night.
00:16:50
Speaker
The second it starts getting like a certain time right before it's dark. And that's like the indication that something is about to be coming through this forest that you don't want to be around.
00:17:03
Speaker
And in the forest that night with her bird, she is chased by something that she can't see and runs into a random house with people in it. And the person at the door is like, you have five seconds to get in this house or I'm shutting it.
00:17:17
Speaker
And so she gets into that house and we are introduced to new characters, which are Madeline Kira and Daniel. And we find out that Kira is actually the wife of the man that was in the prologue in the very beginning.
00:17:38
Speaker
So in the movie, this first encounter, which I think is the biggest, pretty big difference between the book and the movie Their first encounter is where Madeline, which appears to be the main person in this house, like the main person in charge at this house, pulls Mina into what appears to be their nightly routine.
00:18:04
Speaker
The building that they're in, which they have we eventually learn is known as the coop, has a mirrored window and they all have to present themselves to what they call the watchers.
00:18:18
Speaker
And Madeline in the movie, Madeline indicates that they're almost happy. These watchers are happy to see them. They're just happy to see her in this new person. And in the movie, the camera pans out and they're all, we hear applause as the camera is panning out, which is not in the movie or not in the book. I'm sorry.
00:18:40
Speaker
It was kind of creepy. I'm not going to Yeah. I actually like this added touch in the movie. Like, You're thinking, what the hell is going on? And then them watching the reality show inside where they are the reality show for the watchers. Yeah.
00:18:57
Speaker
It was very, I don't know, it was really like, ooh, just that layer of creep that was kind of missing from the book. You know, making it like you're the reality show. i really liked that.
00:19:11
Speaker
Yeah. In the book, Madeline is just like the first encounter. She just explained that you must stay inside at night. The glass is more like a window just too dark to see out of. And she's just saying they do. They like to watch.
00:19:25
Speaker
There's not a lot of rules regarding how they watch. Like in the movie, they're saying like you have to like never turn your back on the glass. And they kind of like do things to entertain them.
00:19:37
Speaker
ah But they have to stay awake at night or the watchers attack the glass. And they attack the glass a lot. They're not applauding for this newcomer here. But the
Mina's Skepticism and Tensions with The Watchers
00:19:49
Speaker
way that that's done, it's like, okay, what are these things outside? Are they human? Are they creatures? Like what is going on?
00:19:57
Speaker
I hated that aspect of the movie. I'm not going to lie. Oh, didn't like it? hated it so much. Oh my gosh. Okay. Why? why Well, I, I don't know. Just when Kira's like, Oh, they like it when I dance. And i was like, boo, this is dumb.
00:20:18
Speaker
Oh my gosh, that's so funny. This is the part though where like right away Madeline is very different. Because like in the book, she's like, get in here. I'm gonna close the door. Mina gets in and then she's like,
00:20:32
Speaker
we're not going to have enough water now that you're here. You're just another mouth to feed and stand in front of the glass girl. And what's your name? And she's very like, almost mad that she's there.
00:20:43
Speaker
yeah But in the movie, she's like, she's not necessarily happy and excited but or welcoming by any means, but she goes, I know you're scared now, but you're going to be okay. Like Madeline in the book would have never said that.
00:20:56
Speaker
Madeline in the book would have been like, I know you're scared. Get over it. Like, we have to survive. Yeah, she's very, like, straight-faced, like, doesn't really show any emotion and the book because she's like, this is just how it's done.
00:21:13
Speaker
she's She's, like, given up hope and at this point it is literally just survive day to day. Mm-hmm. there's no joy, there's no fun, there's just duty. Mm-hmm. You know, just what we have to do.
00:21:28
Speaker
yeah And... That first night, something I really wish was in the movie was whenever, you know, Mina doesn't really believe what they're saying. She's like, what are you guys talking about?
00:21:44
Speaker
Like people watching us in here and we have to stay in here. Like, why can't I go? Even though she did hear something chasing her and like the screeching outside.
00:21:55
Speaker
And Madeline's like, well, go look. Go look out the window. and you know, Mina goes up to the window all the way to the front of it. And something screeches in her face at the window. And she can't really tell or describe what it was. But it was just something yelling in her face.
00:22:12
Speaker
That was scary to me. I liked that part. Yeah. Yeah. That was honestly the only scary thing in this whole thing to me. In my opinion. That really freaked me out. That was like a jump scare in a book.
00:22:24
Speaker
which was cool. I like that. But like you said, characters are very different. Even Kira is kind of different in the movie versus the book.
00:22:37
Speaker
The book, she when we first encounter her, she's kind of like going through some some crap right now because she's dealing with her husband being gone. like She's like laying under a blanket, doesn't want to speak to anybody in the book.
00:22:53
Speaker
And in the movie, she's just like, yeah, my husband's like out and he's coming back soon kind of thing. Right. And he's been gone for days. And everyone's like, yeah, he's not coming back. He ain't coming back anytime soon.
00:23:05
Speaker
No. And also like Madeline has specific rules. And I think it's done in the movie this way to make it much more dramatic dramatic.
00:23:17
Speaker
more memorable. Like there's rules kind of explained in the book, but they're not like exact rules. Like these are the rules and it's do not turn your back to the mirror.
00:23:29
Speaker
Do not open the door after dark, stay in the light and do not go near the burrows. And the burrows are just where the watchers apparently go during the day. But, and also they kept saying, do not turn your back to the mirror. They were doing that all the time. All the time. The whole time.
00:23:46
Speaker
They were sleeping at night, rolled over with their back. Yeah. Yeah. But once Mina's initial shock wears off after a few days, Madeline is like, you need to do your share of work around here.
00:23:59
Speaker
Madeline, like I said, Madeline is the one in charge. She's been here for two years and the others have been here for like five to eight months or something. but they all have their jobs. Some are better at them than others.
00:24:13
Speaker
ah You can tell that Mina just isn't down with what's happening here. She doesn't want to just give up and not fight to try to get out of here. And she's also always trying to push on the rules that Madeline gave her.
00:24:26
Speaker
In the movie, this is really shown in a scene where Mina completely goes against one of Madeline's rules by going to one of the watchers burrows during the day.
00:24:40
Speaker
Like i said, in the forest, there are burrows underground where the Watchers are assumed to be hiding in during the day. And she steals something from the Burrows that night or during the day.
00:24:51
Speaker
And that night, the Watchers are extremely violent, proving that you need to follow Madeline's rules. They even use John, the guy from the prologue, and Kira's husband as bait.
00:25:07
Speaker
They use him as his bait in the book as well. but Mina never goes to the bros to like make them upset in the book. Right.
00:25:19
Speaker
I personally like this addition in the movie because I feel like we get to know Mina's character more. personally I felt she was very bland in the book.
00:25:32
Speaker
Yeah. yeah to I think we get to see things her problem solving And trying to like, especially associating with her past. Like, we see a little bit of her past of
00:25:53
Speaker
associating with, like, with her sister and her mom. And how that is related to how she does her decision making now. And I like that more in the movie than I did in the book.
00:26:09
Speaker
I feel like and that builds her character more. and like in the book that she talks about how she's kind of almost distrusting of people and what they hide. And she can always tell what they're hiding. She can always see it in their face because she's this artist, because she she really looks at people and sees more than what they probably want people to see and she she talks about like drawing their faces and the sadness they hide or the anger they hide or whatever
00:26:42
Speaker
yeah i liked that in the book but also she really sucked at something that she said she was really good at so there's that her It just made me mad. I was like, oh, like if I can tell, I'm not even looking at these people, Mina, and I can tell what's going on.
00:27:04
Speaker
So try again. but like you were saying, she immediately doesn't trust Madeline. She can tell Madeline is in charge. She doesn't trust her rules, how she's governing everyone. And she does try to kind of rebel again.
00:27:20
Speaker
And I feel like in the movie, they really exaggerated that with her going down into the burrows. I feel like Mina in the book would have been smart enough to not do that because that's just dumb.
00:27:31
Speaker
Right. But they had to make it dramatic in the movie. Yeah. So I get it. Yeah. She was testing. I think she was testing whether Madeline was telling the truth. Like, is this person just like making these up and keeping us here?
00:27:47
Speaker
For no reason. is this like legitimately we have to be following these rules? And then she tested it and she fuck around and find out. That's what happened
Escape Plan and Challenges
00:27:58
Speaker
basically. Pretty much.
00:27:59
Speaker
So now at this point, she's been there for a bit. Winter came. ah Winter is coming. And tensions are escalating between these characters, especially after the incident with Kira's husband because they didn't let him in because they're like, he's being used as bait, you can't let him in.
00:28:16
Speaker
Daniel, who is very close with Kira, like brother and sister, they become very close, steals Madeline's keys because they're just fed up with Madeline and attempts to lock out Mina and Madeline.
00:28:28
Speaker
In the movie, during this moment, this the first time we actually see with our eyes what the Watchers look like. Which, in the book, we never get a visual on what the Watchers look like.
00:28:44
Speaker
We never get a good description of what their true form is. Right. In the movie, we see these giant creatures in the forest.
00:29:02
Speaker
And, to me, scary. Scary. Creepy. I don't like them. Very creepy. I don't want to say the names, but I'm picturing S. Walkers. Yep.
00:29:14
Speaker
Was my first thought. Yeah. Yeah. Very creepy. Very scary. But Daniel eventually lets them in. And like I said, in the book, we're just like hearing about them. We're just hearing like we're hearing that they're screaming. We're hearing that they're running after them.
00:29:33
Speaker
We're never getting a description of what they look like. But at Daniel eventually lets them in and Madeline reveals something significant about the Watchers. They take on forms of people you know.
00:29:44
Speaker
Hence why they are called Watchers. Like they like to watch you and stuff. We get more backstory on the Irish folklore. A little bit of the Watchers being related to, you know, changeling fairies and Irish fae.
00:30:01
Speaker
Changelings are fairies who kidnap human children and leave their offspring in their place. And the story is doing like a twist on this where the Watchers imitate humans.
00:30:14
Speaker
This is revealed at a different time in the book. And I believe it's only revealed to Mina. It's not revealed to all the characters. Right. But at this point in the movie, she Madeline tells everybody what's up with the Watchers.
00:30:30
Speaker
And the Watchers right now are angry because they know like someone was out and they didn't get to them. And so the watchers are angry. Things escalate to the point of them almost breaking into the coop that they're in.
00:30:43
Speaker
And they move a table to block the door and reveal that there's a cellar below the coop. So they go under the coop and in this entire cellar is a bunch of supplies and also footage from a person known as Professor Rory Kilmartin, I believe it is, who used to live there and basically created this entire building.
00:31:06
Speaker
And it was studying these creatures. Here was one of my biggest pet peeves. How'd they get a giant metal container in the woods without any machinery? Yep. And then how did they build a concrete structure on top of it without any machinery? Yep.
00:31:24
Speaker
And then i'll get to the I'll get to my next one a little later.
00:31:30
Speaker
I know. Like, literally, though. Like, this is... Because he... And even in the movie, he's like, you know, some men from the village nearby or whatever. Okay, but they still had to drive there.
00:31:43
Speaker
Their cars still would have broke down at a certain point. They would have had to haul all that equipment in by hand and then still be able to have enough time before dark to get some work done.
00:31:55
Speaker
Yeah. Imagine trying to get work done with these things running around. you're telling me there's a town nearby? i don't believe that for a minute. Yeah.
00:32:06
Speaker
You know. And down there, he has like a bunch of footage of like basically video diaries of his experience and what he was studying. And in the footage, he reveals a way they can escape.
00:32:20
Speaker
And says his dying wish is for someone to destroy all the evidence he has on this entire place. Because he doesn't want anybody to come here. And all the evidence is at the university that he was at.
00:32:32
Speaker
So the last video log that he made huh shows him dying. Who stopped the recording? i so I was thinking the same thing. And who renamed the video file? Yep. Who hits who hit save at the end?
00:32:48
Speaker
Yeah. What are we doing? I'm telling you. i don't know. I seriously was thinking the exact same thing. I was like, wait a minute.
00:32:59
Speaker
And then where's his body? Where's the gun? Right? paint it Drop it in the cellar. That's earring. My little ghosty earring just fell out. The ghost gave up. Ran away. Gave up the ghost.
00:33:15
Speaker
I said, enough of this. Get me out of here. So after they hear about this escape route, they all decide to take on that idea.
00:33:28
Speaker
Madeline is kind of like very standoffish about this, all these reveals. And she's just like, I don't know about all this. And she's just kind of standing off to the side and she's like, we shouldn't be doing this. Or she is questioning everything about this escape plan.
00:33:47
Speaker
Mm hmm. Kind of not so much in the movie, but a lot in the book. I don't think she really questions anything. But then at the book, Madeline's just like, we'll leave in the morning. Like at some point, she just randomly decides, okay, we're leaving in the morning.
00:34:00
Speaker
Yep. So the plan is to get to this boat during the daytime and row their way out of here on this river because the assumption is that they can leave the forest or the watchers can't leave the forest.
00:34:16
Speaker
It's very like bird box right now. It's reminding me of bird box. Very much. So they have to escape during the daytime and they make their way to this boat. It feels very dramatic in the movie.
00:34:29
Speaker
In the book, Something that really irked my nerves is her not having shoes. Where are your shoes? ah Yeah.
00:34:40
Speaker
You couldn't go get some, find some shoes real quick. You couldn't use something for shoes. We couldn't delay the trip for one day until the girl had some shoes.
00:34:52
Speaker
I'm telling you. That, I mean, that was crazy. I don't understand why they decided to leave the next day. Right. You found this bunker. You have all this food. You're safe because you've got the the lock or whatever on the the thing.
00:35:07
Speaker
Stay down there for at least a couple of days. Yeah. Get good and fed, you know, build up some strength, maybe find something you can fashion into some footwear.
00:35:19
Speaker
Then go. But they were all like, nope, we're out. Yeah. Also, something that drove me so crazy in the book was that in the movie, so she actually this bird.
00:35:33
Speaker
You know, the bird is still here. bird is still here. And I don't know what they're feeding it, but it's alive and well. And it's in a cage. And she's carrying this little cage around all the time. This poor bird in this tiny little cage. Yeah.
00:35:47
Speaker
And then one day she, in the, whenever they leave in the movie, she lets it out and it kind of like guides them to the river And in the book, she will not let this bird out of this cage as they're running.
00:36:03
Speaker
i assumed its wings were clipped and it couldn't fly. Right? Yeah, that's the only reason. But I think somebody had told her to do it. He said to follow the birds. He said follow the birds in his last log when he was saying where the boat was. Yeah. That was in the movie though, right?
00:36:20
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. yeah because though there there weren't birds in the book the birds wouldn't even come down to the ground they they stayed above the tree line in the book exactly so in the movie he was like like follow the birds and he i'm certain meant the birds that every evening leave really freaking fast yeah that's what i was all like i'm gonna let the yellow one guide us you know late that bird doesn't know where the hell it's at it's not barely did yeah I was like, when I saw that in the movie, I was like, no, no, that is not how birds work.
00:36:56
Speaker
i I had a compass in the book and they didn't have one in the movie. Yeah. Cause they were following the birds. Yeah. Don't need one. If you got a bird. Yeah. You don't need a compass. You got a bird. Like the outside birds. Yes.
00:37:08
Speaker
They're going to go to the same like roosting point every day or whatever. But this bird that's been in this cage, but is in no way whatsoever native to this area. it It has no idea. It's a golden conure.
00:37:23
Speaker
has no idea where it's going. it just goes in circles. I'm telling you. i was really waiting for them to end up back at the coop. but Pass into a tree.
00:37:35
Speaker
Yep. Or just get snatched out of the air by Oh my god. That'd be horrible. why don't I don't want to kill it. Well, no. but Not dead dead. Just maybe yeeted or something.
00:37:47
Speaker
So the only reason I went from a two to a 2.5 is because of this one scene. i was like, someone needs to die. Somebody needs to die in here. i need some entertainment. I need somebody to freaking die.
00:38:00
Speaker
And it was Daniel. Poor Daniel. Poor Daniel. Poor guy But I really liked the scene where You know, they're like, all right, we're at the boat. Everybody get in the boat.
00:38:12
Speaker
We're trying to get into the water. And they look around and like, wait a second, we're missing a person. And this actually really hurt my heart because in the movie, we're not getting this family bond that they all had.
00:38:25
Speaker
right in the book the book it was like very much like we're a family like we're gonna get through this and you know we're gonna make it out of here and so they had a very close bond at the end even like and matt madam madeline a little bit yeah she took on like almost a motherly role yeah you know like protect her they made it like against her will they're like you're gonna be part of this family Right.
00:38:47
Speaker
And so they're like, we're missing a person and Daniel's not here. And Mina looks up and further away sees that Daniel had gone back for like um john john john John, who I guess was like laying down hurt and he wasn't registering that that was one of the Watchers that were disguising themselves as John. And he was just thinking of Kira and trying to get John to Kira and the Watchers kill him. Yeah.
00:39:23
Speaker
And that whole scene, how it played out in the book, I thought was so good. i really liked that part. it was It was a good moment. Yeah. and A very sad moment. but Yeah. well It's also in the movie, but I just thought it was much better in the book. I really liked that one. also just really didn't like Daniel in the movie. Yeah, no. um Yeah, me neither.
00:39:44
Speaker
He was so sweet and so kind in the book. Like, this guy kind of seemed like just like a He's a douche. Yeah, like a dumb little douchebag. Yep.
00:39:55
Speaker
But they eventually make it out of the forest and back to civilization. This is another part that I was like, wait a minute. what At no point did they come up with a plan for what story they would tell people.
00:40:08
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. So... You've been gone for months. Months. hu And you're just going to walk back into your life and not have some sort of plan for what to tell people.
00:40:21
Speaker
here was Here was the main point, though. They were not going to tell them the truth. Right. They were not going to tell the truth because they didn't want anybody to go back there. But here's Kira. She's been in the woods for like five or six months at this point.
00:40:39
Speaker
She is not going home with her husband, so she's going to have to explain why and how her husband died or disappeared at the very least. And somehow she goes home and still has a home to go to.
00:40:54
Speaker
If I was gone that long, my lights would be shut off. My bills would be piled at the door. If they didn't repo or like I'm renting so they didn't evict me while I was gone. like what?
00:41:06
Speaker
How did she still place? Same with with Mina. She just goes back to her apartment and unlocks the door and goes inside. Like nobody.
00:41:18
Speaker
You didn't get evicted. You didn't get your electricity shut off or your gas shut off. Everything's just normal.
Madeline's Revelation and Conclusion
00:41:23
Speaker
That's. pissed me off in the book and the movie yeah yeah it was kind of ridiculous Mina so they get back immediately Mina's on a mission to go to this university to destroy the professor's findings and all the information about the location of the forest and the folklore behind it um about the changelings and everything During that process, which is crazy because like they just went through hell and back and she's like, I gotta go do this thing really quick.
00:41:55
Speaker
But she finds something crazy in his office. What was it, Carrie? The professor has a picture with Madeline. It's revealed his wife.
00:42:08
Speaker
Dun, dun, dun. And she's dead. dun, dun.
00:42:17
Speaker
I totally, I'm so proud to say I knew this was coming. I'm so proud. I'm proud of you too. But honestly, if you hadn't figured it out, I would have been like, girl, you've learned nothing this year.
00:42:29
Speaker
but we We've been doing this for a year now and you still can't figure it out when it's handed to you. i know. i'm I'm proud of you. You did it. I did it. I did it. I'm so proud. So the Madeline that's been with them is one of them, a watcher.
00:42:46
Speaker
a fae, fairy. was a fairy. a where She fairy ever. She's a little different. These fairies are scary.
00:42:59
Speaker
She can leave the forest. Why can she leave the forest? Why is she hanging out with everyone during the day? Daywalker. Yep. When Mina goes to tell Kira about this, we get a much more dramatic scene in the movie where Madeline is impersonating Kira and impersonating other people and they fight each other.
00:43:20
Speaker
In the book, it's not a lot of fighting, more reasoning with Madeline because it's revealed that Madeline is actually fling, half human, half fairy.
00:43:31
Speaker
And that's why she was able to leave. And she didn't want to stay there either. like She's glad to be gone from them. Yeah. But why was she so worried about her secret getting out?
00:43:45
Speaker
Like they weren't even going to tell the truth for their stories. But also who was going to believe them anyway? Yeah. I don't don't think Madeline ever would have trusted anyone.
00:43:57
Speaker
That's it. You know. And she was probably afraid to get caged up, locked up, tested and worked on or whatever. you know. All she'd have to do was change her face and they can't find her.
00:44:09
Speaker
Get out of there. Change your name. Change your face. don't know. because it was shown before whenever we saw the professor's like video logs that he had a watcher like trapped with him that he was like you know ah we would assume doing some type of testing on or something like that right and i assume that that's how madeline yeah we're kind of led to believe that yeah I did enjoy in the movie the part where she's, Mina's like, you're a halfling.
00:44:48
Speaker
And she's having these, I'm sorry, immediately I was like, you're all wizard. Yep. Yep. Anyways, in the movie, I really enjoyed the part where it was like flashing to these parts of her being human, you know, like her having feelings and protecting them at different points um throughout like their journey. And she's like, you have human emotion.
00:45:12
Speaker
so you're like half human kind of thing. I don't remember this in the book, but then Madeline gets wings and flies away. Yeah. That's weird. That didn't happen in the book, right? No. no Okay. was like, did that happen in the book?
00:45:26
Speaker
She literally walked out the door and left. Yeah. was to say, I'm pretty sure she just left. yeah she So in the movie, she ah pops out some wings and flies away. Going off.
00:45:39
Speaker
But then like we're shown her in different forms in the future, checking in on Mina every once in a while. The book ends in a little bit of a cliffhanger where after reasoning with Madeline, after Mina is, talks to Madeline about everything, Madeline comes back in a different form saying that there are more of her and that they're everywhere. Well, because now Mina spotting them.
00:46:06
Speaker
Yeah. And she's like better at recognizing the subtle inaccuracies in people's faces or whatever. Yeah. i and And the one that she saw like in the beginning of the book but didn't know what it was in the beginning of the book, I was like, oh, yep.
00:46:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. There is a second book called Stay in the Light. I will not be reading it. But there is a second book. Just letting everyone know.
00:46:39
Speaker
But your final verdict. You had to choose book or movie. Which one would you pick? I would say movie because you can get it over faster. i Honestly, I would say neither.
00:46:53
Speaker
i would say neither. Neither. neither but if You said if you had to choose. so Yeah. If I can choose neither, then... Yeah, I would say neither. i just did not enjoy this. I'm not going to lie. I did not like... It honestly had really great potential. So much potential. story and everything, but just didn't like this.
00:47:17
Speaker
Unfortunately, I did not. But let's go into our question of the episode. If the Watchers were spying on you, what's the strangest part of your daily routine they would catch?
00:47:33
Speaker
Let's start Lindsay. I want to know. Probably when I stare off into nothing and contemplate life. Just lost in thought. It's fine.
00:47:47
Speaker
I they love... Girl, this girl's boring. I love your answer because it's so similar to mine. mine is how many times I walk into a room, stop,
00:48:01
Speaker
completely lose whatever thought was in my brain, look around for a second, walk back out, then remember, and then go back and then do it all over again. It's like when your Sim is doing, when your Sim's on auto, when it walks into the room, and you're like, no, don't do that.
00:48:17
Speaker
It's like, i help here yep they're throwing their hands up in the air to you like in the sky yep oh my gosh that's so funny they would probably be like this is the easiest i got the easy one don't know the easy one i don't know the like complete brain dead face of me when i walk into the room and i'm like wait what why am i here and And then when I go back and I get that, aha, because something triggered the memory and then I go back to the room and forget instantly. There's something about going through a doorway that I swear steals my memory.
00:48:57
Speaker
my gosh, that's so funny. What about you, Carrie? Mine would have to be... Either my skincare routine, like my, I got like my 80 step skincare routine. They'd be like, what is going on with this? This too much.
00:49:11
Speaker
This is way too much. Or it would be, I have this obsession with smelling good. I have to smell good. Like I have to, I have like body oil, body lotion, perfume.
00:49:25
Speaker
And I like do it like more than once a day. to refresh out like refresh the smell because I just want to smell like really good all the time.
00:49:36
Speaker
And they would be like, this is too much. This is high maintenance and it's too much. We're going back to the two girls that just sit and stare. um Yeah, we like them better. Easier.
00:49:49
Speaker
Much easier.
00:49:52
Speaker
my gosh. Okay, so that wraps it up for today's episode. We hope you enjoyed. talking about the watchers and the start to our adaptation selections for spooky month.
00:50:09
Speaker
If you've read and or watched along with us, head to our socials and let us know how you like the book or the movie. We would love to know how you felt about this adaptation because we really want to know.
00:50:22
Speaker
Also, if you love audiobooks like us and have yet to make the switch to Libro FM, check out our link in the description to sign up today and support your local bookstore.
00:50:33
Speaker
Until next time, just know I most likely won't learn my lesson and still won't read the synopsis before I select my next book because it's becoming way too much fun this way.
00:50:44
Speaker
We will see you in the next chapter of Based on a Book.