M. Night Shyamalan’s career is one of great hits and equally substantial misses, unfortunately having had more of the latter in the later part of his career.
Known for some of the most startling twists in cinema history, these twists have become a double-edged sword of sorts for the Philadelphian, as everyone is always expecting him to match – or even outdo – the twist of The Sixth Sense in particular, which is an ungrateful task bordering on the outright impossible.
However, while some of Shyamalan’s later works have been outright nonsensical – even bordering on the unintentionally hilarious at times – the filmmaker has nonetheless proven that he does still have the ability to bounce back after a failure without losing any of his zest for utilizing storytelling in unusual ways.
As mentioned above, a twist of some form is of course to be expected from a Shyamalan movie, and regardless of how that twist is realized in the film at hand, it will always play a substantial role in the audience experience, so nothing beyond the bare minimum shall be revealed here.
With Knock at the Cabin, Shyamalan returns to form once more with an adaptation of Paul G. Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World, the filmmaker crafting a suspenseful thriller that focuses more on emotional tension than traditional horror elements.
The cinematography is sweeping and engrossing in a way that Shyamalan is an expert at executing, resulting in the practically restrictive setting of the interior of a remote cabin becoming surprisingly eerie without relying on any of the cliched parlor tricks some may associate with cabins in the woods in scary movies.
Complimenting the visuals is Herdís Stefánsdóttir’s score, which further elevates the haunting atmosphere of the film by underlining the unease and confusion the protagonists and, by proxy, the viewers feel about the situation.
On the acting side, Dave Bautista leads the pack with an excellent performance as one of four people who seek out a family of three in a cabin to ask them to make an impossible choice – sacrifice a family member or usher in the apocalypse.
Having proven time and time again that he possesses acting chops as great as his muscle mass, Bautista ensures that what could have become a goofy adaptation of an unsettling tale remains grounded thanks to the subtlety and tenderness the big man is more than capable of conveying.
Similarly, Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge also do an outstanding job as the married couple with a young daughter – who is also portrayed incredibly well by newcomer Kristen Cui – enabling the audience to invest in the family’s plight without having to suspend much disbelief.
From start to finish, the film is intense and uncompromising, impressively keeping its momentum throughout as it keeps the audience guessing about what is going on, just as the family spends the runtime uncertain of what to believe and what will happen before the end credits roll.
While he will likely never surpass those early mega hits such as The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs, Shyamalan nonetheless still approaches cinema with a reassured assertiveness that he can still tell stories how he wants to without the expectations of critics or moviegoers alike marring his willingness to take creative risks.
His best effort since Split, Knock at the Cabin does indeed prove that Shyamalan is still an interesting filmmaker capable of delivering interesting work that stands out from the other offerings at the local picture house, and the film is well worth the price of admission if you can go in unspoiled.
Verdict: 7 out of 10
* * * * *
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan, Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman
Based on The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay
Produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock, Ashwin Rajan
Starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge,
Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint
