Had I been more invested in the characters I’m presuming I was supposed to care about, it might have worked.
It’s been a while since I’ve subjected myself to one of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan’s films. I believe the last one I watched was Glass in 2019. That movie, like much of Shyamalan’s recent work, was disappointing. I haven’t yet bothered to watch 2021’s Old mainly because reviews have said the same thing about it: it’s disappointing. But the premise of his films always intrigue me. I never swore him off completely. So, when I saw the trailer for Knock at the Cabin, I was moved to make an effort to watch it. I didn’t make it to the theater but did catch it streaming on Peacock.
The movie proposes a scenario where four strangers — led by the hulking Leonard (Dave Bautista) — descend on a cabin in the wilderness of eastern Pennsylvania. The family renting the Airbnb, Eric (Jonathan Groff), Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and their adopted daughter, Wen (Kristen Cui,) are held hostage as the strangers explain that they have been sent to stop the world from ending. Haunted by visions of the apocalypse, they tell Eric and Andrew that a sacrifice must be made. A member of their family has to be killed to stop the impending destruction of humanity.
Despite Leonard’s overly polite manners and kindly assertions that they’re not being targeted for being a gay couple, Eric and Andrew don’t believe the four strangers. The other three in the group — Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), Redmond (Rupert Grint,) and Adriane (Abby Quinn) — aren’t quite as well-spoken as Leonard but also convey differing levels of compassion toward the couple. If you ignore the fact that they broke into the cabin and carry a variety of homemade weapons, they’d probably seem quite rational.
Knock at the Cabin was based on a novel by Paul Tremblay called The Cabin at the End of the World. From what I have been told — as I didn’t read the book — Shyamalan and his co-writers, Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, have drastically altered the ending of the story. Unfortunately, I spoiled the book for myself to see if I preferred one ending to the other. From what I’ve read, the book’s ending sounds more compelling.
Dave Bautista delivers a superbly nuanced performance as Leonard. In every movie in which I’ve seen him, he’s exhibited great range as an actor. In fact, he’s so good in this film that I probably cared more about his character than both Eric and Andrew. Not because there’s anything wrong with the performances of Jonathan Groff or Ben Aldridge. As characters, they’re just less interesting.
And, ultimately, that’s the biggest problem with Knock at the Cabin. The premise hooked me early and, even though some of the characters’ actions and some of the situations presented felt a little off, I was really expecting one of Shyamalan’s trademark twists to pack a wallop at the end. It didn’t. My ultimate reaction was one of indifference more than anything. I wasn’t surprised, saddened or enlightened. I just thought, “Okay then.” Had I been more invested in the characters I’m presuming I was supposed to care about, it might have worked. I guess that’s the twist.
2.5 out of 5.0 stars
