Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan, Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman
Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn
Rating: [2.5/5]
Making difficult decisions comes as something everyone must do at some point in their lives because of the very nature of living and how we intersect with others. It could cause discomfort or distress but it must occur, which Knock at the Cabin takes and somehow integrates into the idea of the end of the world. While incredibly brilliant in its concept, this film struggles to effectively deliver its point and keep its narrative engaging throughout its runtime.
While on vacation at their cabin, Eric (Jonathan Groff), Andrew (Ben Aldridge), and their daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) receive a visit from four individuals displaying distress as they tie up the family. With great regret, these four individuals tell the family that in order to put a stop to the upcoming apocalypse, a member of the family will need to kill another.
If there’s one thing M. Night Shyamalan knows to present to his audience, it’s a fantastic concept for a story to draw you in. The simplicity of this feature lays it out perfectly where of this two father and one daughter family, one must kill another one of them or the world will come to an end. Certainly simple in its introduction, but undoubtedly horrific in the reality of this getting carried out. Not only does this introduce a whole world of hypotheticals for audience members to ruminate about at home, but it also makes for quite the setup for a difficult decision needing to get done by these family members.
As you can imagine, this idea comes with some difficulty for the family at the center of it all where they refuse to believe the plea of the four visitors as any sane person would. The film then navigates the potential issues at hand such as these four individuals being part of some dangerous religious cult targeting this homosexual couple to inflict violence. We sit right along with this family as we try to decipher whether these visitors come bearing the truth of what will occur or if they carry a terrifying level of delusion in forcing this family to partake in this exercise. Events occur in the feature that shed some light but still leave some murkiness about the reality of this situation making it incredibly conflicting to believe in the truth. Anyone put in this situation certainly could.
For everything this feature sets up well, however, it truly struggles in carrying out its story in a thoroughly engaging manner and it demonstrates some insulting exposition on the part of the screenplay to over-explain everything going on. So much in this feature carries symbolic meaning, which stands out in an obvious manner but the way the film feels the need to spell it all out as we get towards the end felts somewhat insulting and cheapens this emotional story Shyamalan attempted to tell here as it gets bogged down in plot explanation. This film then struggles in bouncing between the metaphorical and the literal where it truly shines when operating in the former. The emotion derived from this circumstance matters the most when navigating this aspect of the story but the film wants to ensure the audience gets what’s going on so definitively it takes away from the overall message.
While the narrative has its issues, it does provide quite the showcase for these actors to show out with the ever-impressive Dave Bautista showing once again he remains the best actor to make his way from professional wrestling. It continues to impress how this man takes on so many different roles and allows for the opportunity to show some incredible range in his performances. He can easily play a hulking man, but the way he portrays the sensitive and gentle Leonard despite his massive size makes for his moments to have a true impact. Bautista does so well in capturing the despair in the eyes and soul of this man as he hates what needs to get done but must because of the greater good of humanity.
Interesting in its concept but quite disappointing in the execution, which can, unfortunately, summarize many of M. Night Shyamalan’s features, Knock at the Cabin needed to have more confidence in its audience. Instead, it takes away some of its power in its incessant need to overexplain everything going on in the feature making for something far too long for the simple story it needs to tell. Quite the mixed bag because it does have some incredibly strong elements to it but ultimately cannot overcome its shortcomings.
Films with Josh 
