Knock at the Cabin review: A good but forgettable thriller

We have the latest from the twisted mind of M. Night Shyamalan hitting theaters this weekend in Knock at the Cabin. Is Shyamalan’s latest worth checking out in theaters? I share my review and let you know if you should or not below.

Knock at the Cabin follows a girl and her parents, who are taken hostage and forced to make a decision to avert the apocalypse. The movie was directed by M. Night Shyamalan and stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, and Ben Aldridge.

The movie begins with a little girl in the woods catching some bugs when a strange man named Leonard arrives (Bautista), he tells her that he isn’t from around there and wants to be friends. After saying she doesn’t speak to strangers, she introduces herself, and they begin to catch grasshoppers together. Shortly after the banter, Leonard and his crew barge in and take over the house. They tie up the little girl’s parents, start to introduce themselves, and try to explain why they are there. Finally, Leonard presents what’s happening, and the hostages have to decide to kill one of the three, or the rest of the world dies.

Knock at the Cabin is tame for M. Night Shamalan and forgettable

Shyamalan is known for his wild and outlandish plots with massive twists and turns. However, this might be his tamest movie yet but also his most realistic. The reality of what Eric, Andrew, and Wen are going through puts you in the shoes of these characters, exploring what you might do in this situation. But, then, you also have the idea put in your head that Leonard and his crew might be conspiracy theorists or a cult just acting on these crazy ideas made up in their heads. Both of these ideas challenge how you think, which is a sign of a fantastic script.

That said, I don’t know how I really feel about the overall film. Shyamalan typically challenges us, but when it came down to the final choices with the film, I felt like I do during most of his films, wishing he made better choices. For some reason, it kind of felt like everything fell into place perfectly in the story, and maybe if this were directed by anyone else, it would’ve been fine, but with Shyamalan behind the chair, you yearned for something that ended up not being there.

While I loved the script, and the acting here was solid, I also felt it was slightly overacted. Dave Bautista continues to show incredible range with his performance as Leonard, but I don’t know if I loved Leonard’s arc or how he was written. Kristen Cui, who plays Wen, was downright brilliant and was the best part of this film. This little girl is going places. The rest of the cast are fine, but it felt like it was missing something.

Overall, Knock at the Cabin is a good but forgettable thriller that will surely leave audiences split down the middle. I recommend checking it out on the big screen based on wanting to see more original ideas from creative minds, but maybe temper your expectations before you head in.

Knock At The Cabin hits theaters on Feb. 3, 2022.