About the film (courtesy of Universal Pictures):
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.
For me, M. Night Shyamalan has been hit or miss in terms of what I’ve personally enjoyed over the years of what he has brought to theaters. The Sixth Sense (1999) and Split (2016) have set the high mark, whereas The Happening (2008) and After Earth (2013) made me seriously question whether or not I’d want to give future efforts the time of day. For the record, I chose to steer clear of The Last Airbender (2010), and based on general consensus, that was the correct choice.
Aside from this five year span of suck, pretty much everything else has been serviceable at the bare minimum. Knock at the Cabin looks to be one of his more intriguing efforts, but is it worth a trip to the theaters to find out? Let’s talk about it.
Right from the start, the opening interaction between Leonard (Dave Bautista) and Wen (Kristen Cui) demonstrates the impending tone of uncomfortable tension that is felt throughout the 100 minute runtime of this horror mystery thriller. Just like many of Shyamalan’s other works, Knock at the Cabin is a layered experience that is not easily unpacked and consumed. The storytelling takes a slow and deliberate approach but is also filled with many interesting bits of information that pulls you in without you even realizing it.
Based on the 2018 novel, The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, Shyamalan and his co-writers (Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman) successfully bring a story to life makes you want to circle back to read the novel after seeing the movie to see what may have been missed. This film adaptation holds its own, but also makes you want to know more about this interesting and diverse cast of characters.
In addition to Bautista and Cui, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint all give performances that help lift the plot and allows audiences to become invested in their characters. Everyone has a back story it seems, and Knock at the Cabin constantly stops to allow us time to get to know each of the pivotal personalities. The connection with the characters is what provides the plot with so much weight and consequence.
Dave Bautista continues to evolve and grow as an actor, which further impresses me because he seems very willing to do whatever it takes to make his performances as pleasurable and enjoyable as can be. All of the actors make the best of their screentime regardless of the duration that we get to see them. There are no throwaway or inconsequential characters to be found. M. Night Shyamalan does a good job in trimming away the fat with Knock at the Cabin while leaving behind something tasty that cannot be devoured too quickly.
I hope you get to see this sooner than later in theaters so that the full plot isn’t lazily revealed and you can enjoy the evolving story as it was intended. Knock at the Cabin is a solid feature that I have no problem recommending to those that want a bit of substance with their entertainment. You can catch this one only in theaters starting Friday, February 3rd with early showtimes on Thursday.
