[REVIEW] Knock at The Cabin - M. Night Shyamalan Gets Existential in Disturbing Invasion Thriller
No matter how you feel about M. Night Shyamalan, you can’t deny that he isn’t one of the most singular voices in genre filmmaking. You either love him or you hate him, and depending on who you ask, a divided critical legacy is far more exciting than a career of only critical acclaim. When a Shyamalan film gears up for release, it is always a topic of extensive discussion. In our increasingly-monotonous mainstream landscape, where movies just come and go with little fanfare, this sort of calculated division is more important than ever.
Knock at the Cabin might be Shyamalan’s biggest example of this to date and considering he’s also responsible for movies like The Sixth Sense and Split, that’s saying a lot. Adapted from Paul G. Tremblay’s novel The Cabin at the End of the World, the film centers around young couple Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge), who are taking a vacation in a secluded Pennsylvania cabin with their adopted daughter, Wen (Kristen Cui). Unfortunately, that tranquility is disrupted when a mysterious group of intruders takes them hostage. The soft-spoken leader is a second-grade teacher named Leonard (Dave Bautista), and he is joined by post-op nurse Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), line cook Adriane (Abby Quinn), and energy plant operator Redmond (Rupert Grint). However, they all claim that they’ve received the same visions of the impending apocalypse and that the only way to prevent the death of humanity is for their captives to choose one of their own as a sacrifice.
Admittedly, I have not yet read Tremblay’s novel, and thus can’t analyze it from a comparative angle. That being said, what it does do is effectively grab viewers enough to want to seek out The Cabin at the End of the World for themselves. The central mystery and the complicated moral dilemmas the film presents are very well-presented, even if some interesting plot points don’t get elaborated on in the way they deserve. There has been some online discussion over whether Tremblay has been properly credited in Knock at the Cabin’s advertising, but the way that the story unfolds will hook those unfamiliar with the novel in a way that will almost certainly make them seek it out after leaving the theater. This isn’t unlike Shyamalan’s approach with 2021’s Old, which adapted the French graphic novel Sandcastle with a few changes distinct enough for curious viewers to research afterward.
As previously mentioned, the script for Knock at the Cabin, which Shyamalan co-wrote with Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, sometimes squanders opportunities to elaborate on its complex themes. Without giving away any spoilers, there is one storyline involving a traumatic event experienced by Andrew that may be connected with their group of intruders. However, given the context of this detail, the fact that it is never fully answered is simultaneously interesting and frustrating.
The frequency of these undercooked ideas is what prevents Knock at the Cabin from being the director’s best work because almost everything else about the film is Shyamalan at his best. The blocking of scenes, as well as the camerawork by cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, helps make the film claustrophobic, evoking the feeling that the audience is just as trapped as the characters. The small ensemble also gives great performances, with Bautista and Amuka-Bird being particular standouts. While relatively bloodless for an R-rated movie, the fact that pretty much all of the film’s deaths are off-screen actually helps elevate tension and dread, as we get plenty of shots of the gnarly tools used to make these kills possible.
It’s important to note that Knock at the Cabin doesn’t have a big, bombastic twist that Shyamalan is known for. There is an important revelation at the end that attempts to wrap everything up, but don’t come in expecting something as bizarre as the ones from “The Happening” or the aforementioned “Old.” Instead, this one is more chilling and philosophical, urging audiences to truly sit with the movie and think about how it might recontextualize everything they had witnessed. It is definitely ripe for online discussion and maybe even controversy, but who is Shyamalan if not a director wanting his viewers to confront the flaws in their own beliefs?
There is a lot to digest and process with Knock at the Cabin, which shouldn’t be surprising for a Shyamalan joint. However, this particular movie of his has a similar sticking power as The Sixth Sense, which isn’t something I say lightly. Despite somewhat glaring screenplay pitfalls, Knock at the Cabin is a dread-inducing and faith-altering film that ranks among his best releases.