A Reel Review: KNOCK AT THE CABIN

Movies about Armageddon usually take place on a global scale, often involving space travel or people running from massive tidal waves or fire from the sky across a worldwide stage. Occasionally, we get a film that shows the end of the world from a more intimate perspective, or from the ground-up. Such is the basis for M. Night Shyamalan’s KNOCK AT THE CABIN. 

 

Seven-year-old Wen (Kristen Cui), and her two dads (Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge), are at a remote weekend getaway when they are visited and held hostage by Leonard (Dave Bautista), and his four companions (Rupert Grint, Abby Quinn, Nikki Amuka-Bird), who are following their visions of the coming apocalypse. 

 

Directed and co-written by M. Night and based on the novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, KNOCK AT THE CABIN is a high-stakes, psychological thriller that takes place in a closed-quarters, single location with possible massive ramifications for the entire world. Leonard and his pals have had visions of Armageddon, and those same visions have led them to the cabin, where they ask at least one of the family members to sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity. Sacrifice one, and the apocalypse is ended. This of course is hard to swallow for the family, but they are slowly convinced once TV news reports show world-scale incidents, ranging from a virus outbreak to massive tsunamis to planes falling out of the sky. 

 

M. Night is playing with themes of entrenched belief with a touch of metaphysical. Leonard and his friends believe hard in what they are doing, as their visions have told them specifics about each global incident and how they can stop it. This idea of the visions is a little undercooked, and is given very little to no explanation. Even after the true nature of the four is given, there seems to be a lot hanging out there. 

 

Shot with 1990’s lenses, KNOCK AT THE CABIN has an old-school thriller look to it, and it works very well. Tension is high, and every shot is meticulously framed. There are a lot of un-nerving things to look at, even though M. Night recycles a lot of tricks that he has used in the past. The score by Herdis Stefansdottir is tremendous. 

 

Also tremendous is the acting. Kristen Cui is excellent for her age, and her two-dad team of Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge is also excellent. Dave Bautista puts in a career-best, and Rupert Grint is nearly un-recognizable in look and performance. The show is stolen by Abby Quinn who is a revelation in front of the camera. 

 

The question everyone wants answered is, what about the twist? KNOCK AT THE CABIN doesn’t have much of one, nor does it even try, and the final resolution and revelation(s) have a “what, that’s it?” feel to it. This is by far one of the most straightforward stories M. Night has tried to tell. It mostly works, but could use some beefing up with the powers that are driving Leonard and his friends. This is one Armageddon that ends not in a bang, but in a whimper. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it