Knock at the Cabin

The lone cabin in the woods has become something of a hoary horror device. Most famous in the Evil Dead films, it has become enough of a formula that it was parodied in films like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and of course, Cabin in the Woods. With his new film Knock at the Cabin, director M. Night Shyamalan takes audiences back to just such a place. But rather than another slasher-focused film, Shyamalan’s film is psychological, apocalyptic horror. The film is successful overall, but unfortunately falls apart near the end.

The film begins with an idyllic scene of young Wen (Kristen Cui) catching grasshoppers outside the titular cabin. She is soon approached by Leonard (Dave Bautista), who is large enough to the young girl to seem initially threatening, but his friendliness and calm demeanor soon put her at ease. They play a game where they ask each other questions, and Leonard begins to unnerve Wen as he tells her that she has to get her dads to agree to what he and his friends are going to ask the family to do, and that what’s about to happen isn’t her fault. Soon three others are walking up the path to the isolated cabin. All are carrying odd homemade weapons. Wen warns her fathers Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and Eric (Jonathan Groff), but they aren’t able to keep the group of four from breaking into the cabin.

In the process, Eric receives a nasty concussion. With Andrew and Eric tied up, the new arrivals introduce themselves as Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), Adriane (Abby Quinn), and Redmond (Rupert Grint). They are a teacher (Leonard), a nurse (Sabrina), a cook (Adriane), and a utility worker (Redmond). They are from different parts of the country, and found each other on message boards. The group tells the family that they have been receiving visions of the end of the world and that these visions have shown them that the only way doomsday can be stopped is if Andrew, Eric, and Wen choose one among themselves to die, and the other family members must perform the killing. The family is given a choice to say yes or no. When they refuse, they are told that part of humanity has been judged. Redmond kills himself and when Leonard turns on the TV, it is reporting a giant earthquake and accompanying tidal wave. Over the next day, these decision points continue, though there are doubts about why the family was chosen for this fate and how these catastrophic events could be tied to what is happening in the cabin.

Courtesy Universal Pictures

The greatest strength and greatest weakness of Knock at the Cabin is the same element – the screenplay. Based on the novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, reports from the author are that the initial screenplay by credited co-writers Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman was significantly rewritten by Shyamalan when he took over the project. The script does a wonderful job of building a sense of dread in the first two acts of the film. The mystery of what is going on in the cabin is woven through with flashback scenes of the lives of Andrew, Eric, and Wen. Moments like Wen’s adoption in China, a visit from Andrew’s homophobic parents, and an attack at a bar that may be tied to the current situation. The structure works very well, building tension to almost uncomfortable levels before relieving it with a flashback. The problem unfortunately comes at the end of the film when Shyamalan abandons any sense of ambiguity, and the tension goes out of the film like a deflated balloon.

There are religious elements throughout the film, understandable with its apocalypse theme, which become too explicit and overdone by the end. With everything wrapped up semi-neatly, the audience gets closure, but it is disappointing closure. Leaving some mystery in the story would have greatly improved the film. Another strength of the film is the performances. Dave Bautista continues to impress as he grows as an actor. Long solid in action-oriented and comedic roles, he has been making recent forays into drama, and is proving to be quite capable. He was far and away the best part of Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. In this film, Bautista conveys the quiet authority and emotional support of a great second-grade teacher. You can read the pain of what he’s having to do on his face in every scene. It’s a spectacular performance. Nikki Amuka-Bird is also very compelling, with Sabrina being nervous and high-strung, but caring about Eric when he is hurt. Aldridge and Groff are superb, mixing anger, disbelief, and quiet acceptance over the course of the movie. For much of its runtime, Knock at the Cabin seems like it will be a return to the top-tier Shyamalan of his The Sixth Sense to Signs period. Unfortunately, the last act is a misfire.