Written by Cameron Geiser

Oh, M. Night Shyamalan. Once infamously hailed as “The Next Spielberg”, his filmmaking career has had its ups and downs- but mostly downs. Entering into a M. Night Shyamalan movie feels a lot like taking a cinematic gamble, but even if lady luck doesn’t grace your time in the theater- at least M. Night swings for the fences. Honestly, I wish more Auteur filmmakers would go for broke like he does. Though admittedly, I find it difficult to critically analyze his work because most of the time I don’t really enjoy or understand his creative choices- but I’m glad he’s out there making films that only he could make.

This film, Knock at the Cabin, is a tricky one. There are aspects of it that I think are quite interesting and truly impressive. However, the film’s embrace of paranoid, fear-based action-taking, and downright illogical leaps of grandeur really soured my experience. Let’s cover the positives first. The cast is great and each actor put in superb performances, though the standout of the film is Dave Bautista as Leonard. His acting career has had a fascinating evolution, and I hope this performance propels him to even greater heights. It was fun to see Rupert Grint back on the big screen as Redmond, his part didn’t have quite as much to do, but his performance left a tangible impact on the film. Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and Adriane (Abby Quinn) each had scenes and character beats that smoothed out other aspects of the film regarding these characters' believability. These four are the intruders of the film. The protagonists are the small family of Eric (Jonathan Groff), Andrew (Ben Aldridge), and their young adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui). They’ve rented the titular cabin in the remote wilderness and barely spent any time vacationing before the intruders walk into frame. Kristen Cui deserves a special mention as this was her first film and she showed real promise as a young actor. As for Ben Aldridge and Jonathan Grof- I think they excelled in playing characters that have to be on high alert and under duress for the entirety of the film. The issues I have with those two characters are more with the writing of them than the actors’ work in performing as them.

The premise of the story is simple, and one of the more interesting aspects of the film. The four intruders approach the cabin and try to make their case before ultimately breaking in after Eric and Andrew attempt to barricade the cabin. Once inside the four restrain Eric and Andrew and implore them to consider the choice that the family must make. The intruders believe that they must force the family to choose one family member to die, and that the family must kill that person. Every time the family refuses to choose, terrible things will happen ultimately resulting in the apocalypse. The first half of the film skillfully handles this tension and the balance between whether or not the intruders are correct in their shared delusion. The second half is where the film lost me.

There is absolutely no subtlety in the second half of Knock at the Cabin. At one point one of the main characters essentially looks into the camera and plainly gives exposition on the film’s symbolism, which was bad and felt bad. This may be more of a personal opinion, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling so hard it made my head spin. The main issue I have with the film is that for the whole of the runtime the intruders are trying to convince Eric and Andrew that they must make this terrible decision to prevent the apocalypse– however I don’t believe the film does enough to believably convince anyone that these things are happening because of their choices. I believe that the intruders, especially Leonard, truly do believe that they must do these things to prevent the end of humanity. Any normal person wouldn’t be convinced by the actions that the film takes to try to prove the legitimacy of danger to them. There are several aspects that broke my immersion immediately, like mass deaths due to a plague-like virus within mere hours of its discovery. Look, after emerging from the worst global pandemic in more than a century with fresh eyes, I could no longer suspend my disbelief. That’s just one example, I don’t want to divulge a list of plot details, but there are more moments like that spread throughout the film. Also, there are several shots that are framed awfully in the last third of the film and I have no idea why those decisions were made. It could come down to personal taste– but I don’t usually have such visceral reactions to the framing of any given shot. Knock at the Cabin wasn’t exactly my jam– but maybe it’s your cup of tea?

Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.