- A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
- This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams. Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.
- Mina, a pet shop employee carrying the wounds of a troubled past, finds herself stranded in a mysterious forest in Ireland. As night falls, she seeks shelter, only to become entangled in a hair-raising conspiracy. Now trapped inside a decaying woodland shelter with three perfect strangers, Mina is unaware that unseen creatures watch their every move with keen interest. Separated from the eerie unknown by a gleaming, one-way mirror and a strict survival procedure, the group is always in grave danger. When resistance is futile, can the confined specimens outwit their captors and escape the Watchers' grasp?—Nick Riganas
- Mina, an American living in Ireland, works at a pet shop and is struggling over the death of her mother from an accident she caused as a child, becoming estranged from her twin sister in the process. She is tasked by her boss to deliver a valuable bird, whom she names Darwin. Driving into a vast forest, Mina's car breaks stranding her in the forest. She explores and finds the car missing when she returns. Later she encounters an old woman watching her. After hearing inhuman noises in the forest, she follows the old woman, Madeline, to a bunker-like building. Upon entering the bunker, nicknamed 'The Coop', Mina meets the other two occupants of the bunker, Ciara and Daniel. Madeline explains that a mysterious group called 'The Watchers' observe the group through the mirrored glass in the coop every night.
The next day, Mina attempts to leave but finds there is no way out of the forest. Madeline explains the rules: The Watchers kill anyone outside the coop at night, they are afraid of light, and they must never enter the Burrows, a set of tunnels around the forest that The Watchers stay in during the day. Mina bonds with Ciara and Daniel, learning they have been stranded in the forest for several months and have never seen a Watcher. Ciara mentions her husband John left the Coop days ago to get help but has not returned. Mina clashes with Madeline who feverishly follows the rules and seems to be fine obeying the Watchers. Mina and Daniel explore a burrow and retrieve several items including an old bike and a camcorder before fleeing after Mina glimpses a Watcher burn itself in the sunlight. The group decide to use the camera to capture footage of a Watcher to prove they are real. John seemingly appears at the Coop but Madeline refuses to let him in, claiming he's a Watcher. "John" fails to verify himself to Ciara and is seemingly attacked. The Watchers break part of the mirrored glass, spooking the group. Madeline returns the items to the burrow the next day to appease The Watchers.
Months pass and winter falls. The group struggles to cope with the worsening conditions and begin to turn on each other. After an argument, Daniel locks Mina and Madeline out of the Coop at night forcing them to seek shelter in the forest. They witness the Watchers, humanoid creatures that imitate the Coop occupants, react angrily to Madeline and Mina's absence. The pair manage to get back into the Coop and Madeline explains that 'The Watchers' are a race of ancient beings called 'Changelings' or 'Faeries' and are attempting to learn how to imitate humans. The Watchers, furious with Mina's repeated breaking of the rules, attempt to get into the Coop. The group discovers a hidden door leading beneath the Coop and seek refuge. Below the Coop is another bunker filled with supplies and a computer. On the computer are video diaries from a professor who created the Coop. He discovered the Watchers and wanted to study them but soon found they were better at imitating him than he expected. He managed to capture one and started to bond with it. In his last video diary, the despondent Professor explains a way to escape the forest before requesting that his university notes be destroyed and is last seen climbing back to the Coop to kill the Watcher and then himself. The next day, the group leave the underground bunker to discover that the Coop has been ransacked. With no other choice, the group follow the Professor's advice to escape, reaching a river and boat with Darwin's help as night falls. Daniel encounters a Watcher mimicking John and is tricked into helping him. The others escape as The Watchers kill Daniel. Mina, Madeline and Ciara manage to reach civilization and escape the forest.
Days later, Mina heads to the professor's university to destroy the notes. Mina learns that The Watchers once lived in peace with humanity but a war broke out and they were forced underground and sealed in. She also learns about half human and half watcher hybrids, able to explore the world during the day. Mina visits Ciara at her home and shows her a set of photos she found in the office, revealing that Madeline was the Professor's wife who died before he entered the forest. Mina realizes Madeline is the Watcher that the Professor managed to capture in the bunker. The real Ciara arrives at the house as the Ciara that Mina was talking to reveals herself to be Madeline. Madeline cycles through forms of Ciara, Madeline, John and Daniel before knocking Ciara unconscious and attacking Mina. Madeline reveals that she had always wanted to escape the forest and plans to imitate Mina. Mina realizes that Madeline is a half-human half-Watcher hybrid and manages to talk Madeline into calming down, encouraging her to let go of her grief and her anger towards humans. Madeline transforms into her true Watcher form and departs. Sometime later, Mina has reconciled with her sister and has got over her own grief. Meanwhile, Madeline, imitating the form of a child, keeps watch over Mina.
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