Movie Review about “Knock at the Cabin”

M. Night Shyamalan seems to have a knack for creating disastrous apocalyptic movies. Who could forget the perplexing plot of his eco-thriller "The Happening," which featured a character nonchalantly lying down in front of a moving lawn mower? And then there was "After Earth," a science-fiction movie starring Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith that tanked at the box office. Despite Shyamalan's fascination with the end of the world and his tendencies as a sentimental moralist, an overzealous plot-twister, and a button-pusher, his attempts to tackle this theme always seem to miss the mark. His latest film, "Knock at the Cabin," uses the threat of an impending apocalypse to explore human behavior and morality, but ultimately falls short.

It's a pity that the story is lacking, because the movie's visual presentation is stunning. Co-cinematographers Jarin Blaschke ("The Lighthouse") and Lowell A. Meyer ("Thunder Road") create a rich, earthy, and vivid atmosphere with their use of Kodak film stock. Even scenes of characters standing in the same living room become captivating studies of faces in close-up. The performances are uniformly intense, despite the writing's shortcomings, and the ensemble cast is impressive. The film shows promise early on, but unfortunately, Shyamalan's larger goal doesn't give "Knock at the Cabin" the impact it needs to truly resonate with audiences.

Dave Bautista delivers a standout performance in "Knock at the Cabin," showcasing his versatility by portraying a gentle character with a tough exterior. His role as Leonard, a second-grade teacher from Chicago, is incredibly disarming, especially in the way he chooses to speak softly while enacting a plan filled with the unthinkable. Along with three other people who have had visions of the apocalypse, Leonard approaches a cabin in the woods armed with sharp weapons, not wanting to hurt anyone inside, but willing to use violence to prevent the end of the world.

The cabin's inhabitants are Wen, a young girl played by Kristen Cui, and her two dads, Eric and Andrew, portrayed by Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge, respectively. The captors have chosen this family, and they must decide which one of them to kill to prevent the apocalypse from occurring. The stakes are high, and the tension is palpable as the family is tied up in chairs before their captors, who demand a sacrifice to prevent a devastating plague from being unleashed. Refusing the captors' demands only results in deadly consequences, with Eric and Andrew's initial rejection unleashing tsunamis and earthquakes.

The question of whether Leonard and his friends are onto something or if it's all just coincidence is at the heart of "Knock at the Cabin." But the film fails to wriggle in the magnanimous uncertainty of belief that it needs to explore. Instead, it merely admires the power of belief without delving into the complexities and nuances that it entails. It's as if the film is presenting both sides of an argument without taking a stance, which feels lazy and disingenuous.

While films like Jordan Peele's "Us" manage to explore the idea of a divided people with nuance and intelligence, "Knock at the Cabin" resorts to lazy fear-mongering and conspiracy theories. The script doles out information about the characters carefully, but it feels more like stirring the pot than building a compelling narrative. Shyamalan's lack of nuance is evident throughout, culminating in a twist that feels cheap and unearned.

Ultimately, the film is frustrating and self-serious, leaving audiences with more questions than answers. While the performances are strong and the cinematography impressive, "Knock at the Cabin" falls short in exploring its central ideas with depth and complexity.

Despite the presence of sharp weapons, strange motivations, and the impending apocalypse, "Knock at the Cabin" fails to deliver on the expected horror element. While the story revolves around the human capacity to recognize the value of another's life, the movie falls short in creating the terror necessary to establish emotional stakes. Cutaways dampen the immediacy of the scenario, leaving the audience feeling numb to the threat of violence. As a result, the lack of terror is palpable, and the movie feels anticlimactic.

However, the script, co-written by Shyamalan, Steve Desmond, and Michael Sherman (based on Paul Tremblay's book "The Cabin at the End of the World"), does succeed in making us care for the targeted family. "Knock at the Cabin" intersperses the present-day stress with flashbacks of Eric and Andrew's love story and their life with adopted daughter Wen. Groff and Aldridge's performances are heart-wrenching, with Aldridge embodying a tough exterior against a threatening world, while Groff slowly depicts the journey of seeing the light. Together, they show the pain of possibly making The Choice and how Eric and Andrew's love for each other makes it even harder. Additionally, their portrayal of a same-sex married couple provides more depth to the film's representation of LGBTQ+ characters. While there's a need for more of this in major studio productions, "Knock at the Cabin" is a step in the right direction.

While “Knock at the Cabin” has its moments, it ultimately fails to deliver a compelling message. The film touches on the idea of preserving humanity, not just its population, but the concept itself. Leonard and his team's work could be seen as an effort to promote empathy, but the delivery falls flat. Shyamalan aims to make a profound statement to audiences returning to theaters after lockdown, but the film lacks substance. It feels like the director is trying too hard to say something significant without much to say. Ultimately, “Knock at the Cabin” misses the mark, leaving viewers with little more than a vague sense of disappointment.