I admire M. Night Shyamalan. He started out strong, then made some questionable films, and when it seemed he would never make a good film, he started to self-finance his movies. Slowly, he managed to get back to a level where I am not excited per se to check out his newest films, but I trust him enough to seek them out once they are streaming. Knock at the Cabin is the perfect example. When it came out, I mostly heard of “ok-ish” reviews, so I knew that it was not a “cinema must-see film”, but I wanted to check it out when it landed on streaming.
The honest truth about this film is simple – it’s a brilliant premise that gets brutally unexplored enough. Knock at the Cabin is one of those films with a simplistic setting with only a handful of actors, and it’s all about that premise. One of the family members has to die; otherwise, we all die, and the apocalypse will come. I hoped for some philosophical moments; I thought the movie would have the characters engaging in deep conversations, and it… just didn’t.
The biggest problem with this film is it reveals its hand way too soon. I don’t know about you, but regarding movies like these, the best part about them is the build-up, the anticipation, whether that crazy thing that is supposed to happen will happen. And here, the movie seems to want to move past this, which I thought was weird but fine. I hoped we were skipping past that and moving to those tough conversations about sacrifice, family, and possibly religion/philosophy… But the movie isn’t interested in that either. This film shows you everything, so there is no tension about the “truth”, and that simply destroys the decent amount of tension this film builds up over the course of its runtime.
I can talk about all the actors here because they were all great. But honestly, most have pretty straightforward roles. The only one who stands above everyone (both metaphorically and physically) is Dave Bautista. It was a huge risk to play this role because he is (effectively) the main character, so if he doesn’t work, nothing will work. But Dave delivered and proved again why he is, by far, the most talented wrestler turned actor around. He brings depth, charm and a sense of danger into his character. I am not certain whether he will ever be considered “excellent”, but I think he is good enough to be considered a decent actor and carries this movie.
Everything else about Knock at the Cabin is fine. The runtime is a breezy 100 minutes; the movie never bores you and gives you something to think about. However, it doesn’t give you any incentive to think about it any further, on a deeper level. And that is, ultimately, where it fails and loses me. Movies like Knock at the Cabin are specific ones where you need a few metaphors and great foreshadowing with many details of things “hidden” throughout the film, so the next time you watch it, you go: “Hey, I didn’t notice that that’s cool!” I am afraid that everything is literally spelt out for you in this movie so you won’t have that experience. Everything in this movie has “one explanation”, no nuance, no chances for “what if”… And that feels counterproductive. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a perfectly adequate movie, but… That premise alone should have made your movie much more than “perfectly adequate”.
Overall, Knock at the Cabin is a decent time with some great actors, reasonable runtime and one moral dilemma in the middle of everything. But it feels like the movie doesn’t want you to think about it too much or use your own imagination, as it tells you everything you need to know and in its definitiveness, it lost me as a viewer who wanted to feel more involved. From what I understand, the book this movie is based on is different (mainly the ending), so I am tempted to get that and read it rather than rewatch this movie again. Not that I didn’t have a good enough time, but frankly, I don’t believe the rewatch will open my eyes to something I have missed. If you are looking for an entertaining enough film, try this film. Just don’t expect it to challenge you in any way, as everything here is as deep as a kiddie pool.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke