Knock at the Cabin
- Feb 27, 2023
- 2 min read
Director: M. Night Shymalan
Cast: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint, Abby Quinn
Certificate: 15
Premiered in New York City in Jan 2023, released in the UK January 24th 2023.
Once heralded as the King of the Plot Twist, M. Night Shyamalan's filmography reads as one hell of a rollercoaster ride, flying from soaring highs to the true depths of embarassment. Failures that sting that much more because Shyamalan has shown himself to be more than capable of hooking and holding his viewers, if only he could do it with a bit more consistancy.
So enters his latest endeavour, Knock at the Cabin, a horror movie about a gay couple and their young daughter being held hostage by four crazed strangers who claim to be trying to prevent the apocalypse by choosing which of their family to die. An interesting premise but given Shyamalan's recent releases, my expectations were pretty low. While I didn't seek out spoilers, I didn't exactly avoid them.
Dave Bautista is without a doubt the strongest element in the movie, being such a violent and physically imposing character yet also being so gentle, and soft-spoken. While the rest of the cast do their best, none of them match his impact, coming off as only manic or violent and ultimately forgettable.
There's some attempt at building tension, but in the end it's such a disappointment. After hours of torture, and playing with the horrific question of what's right and what's wrong, all it builds to is the final 15 minutes of the film where suddenly the protagonists believe everything for no discernible reason other than the plot demands it. Then when the decision and sacrifice is made there's no space given for the impact of the decision on the family we've spent the previous 90 minutes getting to know. Instead it's brushed aside for an emotionally hollow ending that focuses on the impact on the world.
While not an utter disappointment, the film felt half-finished in terms of the story it wanted to tell. Ultimately I was left with more questions than answers, and overall underwhelmed. It's worth watching once but I wouldn't watch it again.
Comments