Knock At the Cabin: Movie Review

Cast: Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Kristen Cui, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

It may be to Knock At The Cabin's detriment that you spend a lot of the time awaiting a twist (as is usual of Shyamalan's oeuvre), but what's actually delivered over a 100 minute thriller is something that may surprise.

Adapted from Paul Tremblay's book, Knock At The Cabin is a simple story, one of a seemingly simple choice that has diabolical consequences. But while it purports to tackle themes of faith and trust, as well as belief, its expected horror edges will be where audiences are drawn.

Essentially a chamber piece set within a cabin in the woods, Bautista's softly-spoken Hulk-like Leonard sets proceedings in motion when he approaches little girl Wen (Cui) who's holidaying with her dads Eric and Andrew (Groff and Aldridge respectively).

Warning Wen that he's heartbroken at what he must do, Wen runs off back home - but soon Leonard and three others (Grint, Amuka-Bird and Quinn) are at the door, telling the trio they have an apocalyptic - and almost unthinkable - choice to make.

To say more is to rob Knock At The Cabin of its suspense, and its taut filmmaking.

Shyamalan has a wild streak of hits and misses in his catalogue, but it's usually due to audience expectations. Here, he puts all of that aside and concentrates more on delivering a film that is self-contained and tension-filled despite the somewhat ludicrous edges of the source material.

You could argue there's not enough time devoted to the trio having to discuss their choices, and too much weight is put on them being a same-sex couple (thanks largely to one long discourse and flashbacks), but the tightly-constructed edges of Knock At The Cabin prove to be seat-clenchingly intriguing and at times, quite upsetting.

This is a film more about relationships and interactions rather than out-and-out horror and while the edges may be more psychological and occasionally hit and miss on that front, Knock At The Cabin is a propulsive thriller that stays the course rather than becoming tied up in its mystery.

Knock At The Cabin may feel like stripped-back Shyamalan and may benefit from coming from other source material rather than original fare, but Bautista's interesting approach to his character helps to keep you feeling uneasy and unsure about where it's all going.

It may be polarising to some, but for a ride that's compelling, this is one cabin in the woods you may well enjoy checking into more than you'd have expected to do so. And given his own back catalogue, that's perhaps the M Night Shyamalan twist none of us were expecting in 2023.