Directed By M. Night Shyamalan; Screenplay By M. Night Shyamalan, Steve Desmond, & Michael Sherman; Starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint.
Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 novel titled The Cabin at the End of the World, the story centers on a married couple (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) who are on vacation with their daughter (Kristen Cui) at their remote cabin in the woods. Although they are later held hostage when a stranger named Leonard (Dave Bautista) arrives with his companions (Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint, and Abby Quinn). Expecting a home invasion, they are soon informed they are part of an impending apocalypse, with Leonard and his gang requiring a personal sacrifice to stop doomsday. This gives the family four chances for one of them to sacrifice themselves before the end of the world arrives.
M. Night Shyamalan has had quite an interesting career trajectory. After making it big with his third feature film, 1999's The Sixth Sense, he delivered two more hits with 2000's Unbreakable and 2002's Signs. Then when The Village came out in 2004, many considered it to be a disappointment, though it has since gotten a revaluation with fans nowadays viewing it as a misunderstood masterpiece. However, Night's next two suspense thrillers, 2006's The Lady in the Water and 2008's The Happening, were both very poorly received. Then he took a crack at two big budget VFX heavy films such as 2010's The Last Airbender and 2013's After Earth, both of which didn't turn out well at all (and even Night himself has since admitted his regrets taking them on). In 2015, he returned to the genre of suspense thrillers with The Visit, which was produced on a very low budget. It was not only a big commercial hit, but many people felt it was a huge return to form for him. Night then followed that up with 2017's Split, which was another hit. But then his last two films, 2019's Glass and 2021's Old, both received very middling responses from critics and audiences. As for Knock at the Cabin...
From a directing standpoint, M. Night Shyamalan crafted a film that stays emotionally intense from beginning to end. You’re pretty much on the edge of your seat throughout the whole thing. Herdís Stefánsdóttir’s musical score also does a great job of keeping the tension going. Although from a writing standpoint, Night does fall into his weakness of delivering exposition through dialogue at certain points. Thankfully, he does “show, don’t tell” at other points by having the main characters watch news reports of different catastrophic events.
A lot of the performances are really good. Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Kristen Cui all work well together as the family who must avert the incoming apocalypse. Individually, each of them deliver very strong work. Dave Bautista is so haunting as the leader of the four strangers. Nikki Amuka-Bird is appropriately fragile as Sabrina. Abby Quinn sells a heartbreaking monologue to great effect. Rupert Grint is excellent in his few minutes of screentime. Not to mention that M. Night Shyamalan himself has a fun cameo in the film (you’ll know it when you see it).
Knock at the Cabin is a bit slow moving, but like in any good Shyamalan movie, he does wisely take time to tell the story. Despite most of the action taking place in and around a cabin, it’s never boring. Plus, there are some flashbacks sprinkled throughout that are used effectively well. This film also gives you quite a bit to think about regarding what you would do in a situation like this. In the end, Knock at the Cabin is certainly among some of M. Night Shyamalan’s better work.
Rating: 4/5
Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 novel titled The Cabin at the End of the World, the story centers on a married couple (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) who are on vacation with their daughter (Kristen Cui) at their remote cabin in the woods. Although they are later held hostage when a stranger named Leonard (Dave Bautista) arrives with his companions (Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint, and Abby Quinn). Expecting a home invasion, they are soon informed they are part of an impending apocalypse, with Leonard and his gang requiring a personal sacrifice to stop doomsday. This gives the family four chances for one of them to sacrifice themselves before the end of the world arrives.
M. Night Shyamalan has had quite an interesting career trajectory. After making it big with his third feature film, 1999's The Sixth Sense, he delivered two more hits with 2000's Unbreakable and 2002's Signs. Then when The Village came out in 2004, many considered it to be a disappointment, though it has since gotten a revaluation with fans nowadays viewing it as a misunderstood masterpiece. However, Night's next two suspense thrillers, 2006's The Lady in the Water and 2008's The Happening, were both very poorly received. Then he took a crack at two big budget VFX heavy films such as 2010's The Last Airbender and 2013's After Earth, both of which didn't turn out well at all (and even Night himself has since admitted his regrets taking them on). In 2015, he returned to the genre of suspense thrillers with The Visit, which was produced on a very low budget. It was not only a big commercial hit, but many people felt it was a huge return to form for him. Night then followed that up with 2017's Split, which was another hit. But then his last two films, 2019's Glass and 2021's Old, both received very middling responses from critics and audiences. As for Knock at the Cabin...
From a directing standpoint, M. Night Shyamalan crafted a film that stays emotionally intense from beginning to end. You’re pretty much on the edge of your seat throughout the whole thing. Herdís Stefánsdóttir’s musical score also does a great job of keeping the tension going. Although from a writing standpoint, Night does fall into his weakness of delivering exposition through dialogue at certain points. Thankfully, he does “show, don’t tell” at other points by having the main characters watch news reports of different catastrophic events.
A lot of the performances are really good. Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Kristen Cui all work well together as the family who must avert the incoming apocalypse. Individually, each of them deliver very strong work. Dave Bautista is so haunting as the leader of the four strangers. Nikki Amuka-Bird is appropriately fragile as Sabrina. Abby Quinn sells a heartbreaking monologue to great effect. Rupert Grint is excellent in his few minutes of screentime. Not to mention that M. Night Shyamalan himself has a fun cameo in the film (you’ll know it when you see it).
Knock at the Cabin is a bit slow moving, but like in any good Shyamalan movie, he does wisely take time to tell the story. Despite most of the action taking place in and around a cabin, it’s never boring. Plus, there are some flashbacks sprinkled throughout that are used effectively well. This film also gives you quite a bit to think about regarding what you would do in a situation like this. In the end, Knock at the Cabin is certainly among some of M. Night Shyamalan’s better work.
Rating: 4/5