Knock at the Cabin

The new film by M. Night Shyamalan entitled, Knock at the Cabin Released yesterday on February 3, 2023. I had not seen a film directed by Shyamalan in a while, so I decided to check this one out today.

The synopsis was made pretty clear in the movie trailers leading up to the Release. A small family was chosen by ...someone... to prevent the Apocalypse by killing a member of their own family. Yes, really.

Before I dive into whether or not this theme makes any sense, I would like to continue setting up the storyline. First, I will do my best to avoid any major spoilers before sharing my personal thoughts about the film including spoilers.

As seen in the trailers, this small family is shocked by such news given to them by perfect strangers including the character, Leonard, played very well by Dave Bautista. Of course, the family believes these uninvited guests are out of their minds. Yet, as bizarre events begin to be shown from distant parts of the world through a news telecast, the family has to figure out if this entire ordeal is staged or not.

If the family refuses to "sacrifice" one of their own, the entire population on Earth will be killed in gut-wrenching fashion. Yes, really. As one who has dabbled in Screenwriting, I began to ask myself: Who would think of coming up with a Story Concept like this? And why? Isn't the natural world we actually live in chaotic enough? I digress. Turns out, I believe this Screenplay is based on a novel.

There is plenty of backstory about the family woven into the dire situation, albeit not in chronological order. Pieces of how the family got to the cabin in the first place is shown as flashbacks. Ultimately, the audience puts these pieces together by the end of the film.

However, do these flashbacks help the Story Concept make more sense? I'm not sure it does. I may have to watch the film again to be more confident in my conclusion. Let's break down a few things:

Film Quality.

This film is well-made. Director M. Night Shyamalan knows what he's doing. It can't be mistaken as a "B" movie. Some of the extreme closeups of Characters' faces is a bit jarring while watching on the big screen. Yet, the foundation is given of this being a Character-driven Story. Not many changes in Location, which likely brought down the cost to produce the film. The various POV angles were also interesting because important elements were happening off-camera as Characters addressed those elements without showing the entire environment.

The Cast.

Speaking of Characters, the Acting was Solid. While you may not agree with (or understand) the direction of the Story, the Cast sold it with impressive enthusiasm. They were all in. After watching Dave Bautistic in Guardians of the Galaxy, I knew he could play his part well. He did. However, the little girl, Wen, played by Kristen Cui, absolutely stole the spotlight. She has a good mixture of strength, vulnerability, and the mounds of energy that little kids tend to have.

Plot.

The definition of Plot is the "narrative sequence of events that determines the outcome of the Characters." This is where the film loses some of its momentum. While I do like the Cast and Cinematography, I was left with important unanswered questions as the movie's credits ended on a blank screen. I had one question in particular that really needed to be answered and it's simply left hanging in the air. Unless I'm missing something, it's up to my imagination to fill in the gaps.

A note of caution: there are a few horrific moments in the film, which made me surprised a child was placed in the middle of these events. Honestly, it's the only thing that really bothers me about the film. Which leads me to the Spoiler Section of this Review. This is your final Warning. And thank you for reading this far. Go watch the film, if you'd like, and come back to the Spoiler Section below to see if our reactions line up.

Final note: On Rotten Tomatoes around 9pm (EST) the film Ranks at 69% TomatoMeter and 65% Audience Score.

Here are a few guesses to why this is.

---------------SECTION: SPOILER ALERT---------------

I would like to focus on the Plot and how the Characters fit into this. Should I start with the elephant in the room? The family that was chosen is actually two men and their adopted daughter. A gay couple has to choose which member has to be sacrificed. I did not pick this up in the movie trailers, although looking back at the trailers now, maybe I should have.

Is this a problem?

It can be. It is also a major subplot in the film through various flashbacks. The couple, Eric and Andrew, are mistreated in certain scenes by people around them. When the parents of Andrew came from out-of-town to visit him and found out their son was in a relationship with another man, his parents only stayed for 45 minutes before leaving again for their 7-hour drive back home. It broke Andrew's heart, but Eric assured him that they would be fine.

Another flashback highlighted a conversation between Andrew and Eric in a local bar discussing the beginning of a possible relationship between them. Other people overheard them, one man got especially upset. Words were exchanged and Andrew ended up in the hospital after a stranger struck him in the back of the head with a beer bottle.

Needless to say, Andrew was much less trusting of heterosexual people leading him to purchase a gun for their family's protection.

Is this a dealbreaker for moviegoers, Eric?

No. The Acting from the entire Cast is so good, it felt like the audience that I watched the movie with settled in after initially feeling surpirsed or a bit uncomfortable. Besides, I think we've all had this conversation within our own families during the holidays as we met each other's spouses. While people react differently, most of us settle in and become accepting of it.

Anything else?

While the film does explain in great detail where the four Strangers come from, the Strangers don't know why they were Chosen. They all had the same Vision of the world ending in the same specific ways along with a clear view of the Cabin they were supposed to go to. They did not know who the small family would be or what the family looked like. My question is: Who (or What) chose the four Strangers?

The film never answered this question.

Who chose the small family?

The film never answered this question, either. Only Eric's Character mentioned seeing a figure (a silhouette) in the unusual bright flash of sunlight right before the Strangers killed one of their own. Yes, each time the small family refused to sacrifice one of themselves: Eric, Andrew, or Wen... one of the Strangers would put a white clothe over their head and the other Strangers would kill them. Brutally. Like a pick axe to the head and chest. Every time.

Yes, really. Until Dave Bautista's character was the only Stranger left of the four. After each Stranger was killed, something terrible would happen on the News. But the movie audience didn't know if the News was fake, real, staged, old News, etc. We were getting conflicting signs for much of the film, which was the best part of the Plot. And since the scenes never actually left the Cabin to show the rest of the real world, the audience is left guessing whether or not people were actually dying.

Ultimately, the unanswered question of who was behind these tragic events leaves the film feeling hollow to me. There was no mention of God or aliens or some ancient being that existed for eons. Someone triggered these catastrophic events. Someone chose four Strangers to go to this Cabin supposedly representing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Someone chose Eric, Andrew, and Wen to be the family who had to sacrifice one of their own. WHO WAS IT?

Even though Eric mentioned a figure in the sunlight, we didn't see that figure. He just told us he saw it. The movie audience didn't see anything! Well, I didn't see anything in that flash of light.

Also, how long has this been going on? Every few years, a family has to sacrifice one of their own to save humanity? Why? And obviously, this same-sex couple already felt slighted by humanity, but now they have to give a life for people who mistreat them?

That part, I do understand. The lesson behind it. Forgiveness. Unconditional love. It is unusual to have a societal issue intertwined in an apocalyptic/horror film, but it does make us care for the entire Cast even more. The Strangers themselves don't want to hurt anyone including the small family.

Are the unanswered questions a dealbreaker?

Easily. Yes. You can't say someone sent us and never answer who actually sent you. The audience doesn't need a name. Simply something to hold onto. Perhaps, M. Night could have had a face turn slightly towards the camera to reveal the Being behind all this from somewhere in the cosmos. Otherwise, we're still asking: What the heck is going on?

Some in the audience whom I watched the film with gave a slight groan when the End Credits began to roll without our questions being answered. Still, most of the Review Comments I've been reading give praise to the Cast, but not so much for the Plot.

If you've read through the Spoiler Section, I'm assuming you saw the film. What did you think of Knock at the Cabin? Were my unanswered questions actually answered, I just missed them? Are there any changes you would have made to the Plot? Leave your thoughts below and thanks for reading. ecj