Knock At The Cabin movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Knock at the Cabin

This psychological horror is now playing in theaters (February 2023).

RATING: R (This is M. Night Shyamalan’s 2nd R-rated movie)

LENGTH: 1 hour 40 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

The intriguing movie was directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. He also helped with the screenplay. I’m a fan. I know not all of his movies are hits, but I still believe in his ambitious talent and want him to be successful.

The movie is based on the 2018 novel “The Cabin at the End of the World” written by Paul Tremblay. While vacationing, a girl and her parents are taken hostage by armed strangers who demand that the family make a choice to avert the apocalypse.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

A gay couple has a little girl.
A gun and other weapons.
Some profanity, including F-bombs
Violence
We see people murdered with lots of blood

THEMES:

Choices and consequences
Family
Home invasion
Sacrifice
For the good of others
Homophobia
Suffering
Adoption
The Apocalypse

THINGS I LIKED:

The cast includes some fan favorites: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Rupert Grint, and Nikki Amuka-Bird.
Director M. Night Shyamalan used actual lenses from the 1990s to make the movie look like a 1990s classic thriller.
Fun fact #1: During the theater premiere, audience members were challenged to give up something they really liked and put in a sealed bad. They were told to “Make your choice” and that their sacrifice might be rewarded. Would you do it?
The effectively creepy musical score is by Herdis Stefansdottir.
SPOILER: The colors of the shirts that the strangers wear are supposed to represent the qualities of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. White symbolizes guidance, red is for malice, yellow is for healing, and blue is for nurturing.
Part of the fun of M. Night Shyamalan’s movies is knowing that there WILL be twists.
Shyamalan’s choice of camera shots is always entertaining and interesting.
The majority of the film takes place inside a cabin. One-room shots are tricky, both to film and to keep an audience’s attention. I thought the director did a good job because I felt the tension the entire time.
I love that M. Night Shyamalan always gives himself a cameo in his own movies. If I were a director, I’d do the same thing!
Fun fact #2: Some of the TV clips shown in the movie are real footage clips from actual disasters that have happened.
Hey M. Night, thanks for letting Jonathan Groff sing in the movie for a minute. I’ve watched his performance in Hamilton a thousand times. He was soooo awesome!
The young actress, Kristen Cui, is absolutely adorable.
I loved that we couldn’t quite tell what was real or not.
Some people are killed. Even though the movie is rated R, I thought the director showed a lot of restraint by not getting super gory and disgusting about it.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

I haven’t read the source material, but apparently, the book ends differently and better than the movie adaptation.
The premise makes absolutely no sense. How exactly could that sacrifice save the world?