Film Review: "Knock at the Cabin" (2023).

"Save your family or save humanity. Make the choice." This is Knock at the Cabin. This apocalyptic psychological horror film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, adapted by Shyamalan, Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, and based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay. While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

In late 2017, Tremblay signed an option with FilmNation Entertainment for a film adaptation of his 2018 horror novel prior to its publication, and had to keep the project a secret until July 2022. The initial draft by Desmond and Sherman was listed as one of the most popular unproduced screenplays of 2019 by the Black List and GLAAD List. While another director was briefly attached, Shyamalan read the original screenplay and grew interested in producing. Shyamalan later rewrote the script and came on board to direct the project as part of the two-film partnership between Universal Pictures and his production banner Blinding Edge Pictures. In July 2021, the first draft was halfway completed. In October, the film's title was revealed as Knock at the Cabin. Shyamalan said the script was the fastest he had ever written in his career. By late April, Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint, and Kristen Cui were cast. Shyamalan cast Bautista after he was impressed by his performance in Blade Runner 2049 (2017). At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early June. Filming took place in Burlington, New Jersey, USA, and was shot on 35mm film with the Arriflex 235 and Panavision Panaflex Millennium Falcon XL2 film cameras. Shyamalan shot the film with 1990s lenses (the Panavision C-Series and the Panavision Primo Lenses) to give it an "old-school thriller" look. The film was originally set for a February 17 release date before being brought forward by two weeks as to avoid competition with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).

The film stars Bautista, Groff, Aldridge, Amuka-Bird, Quinn, Grint, and Cui. With genuine terror and memorable moments, the cast holds attention despite mishmash acting and weak dialogue.

The film sees Shyamalan once again blending the supernatural with the real world to make something that’s uniquely his own. Not everyone will be onboard, but I was. The film is wildly inconsistent, preventing it from ever being genuinely as good as some of the director's better works such as The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, or Split. At least I wasn't bored. But it wasn't great. I at least had fun laughing at the nonsense. It didn't feel like a cash grab or truly lazy, except for the writing. While far from a masterpiece, the film is an entertaining thought exercise from one of Hollywood's most invigorating filmmakers.

Simon says Knock at the Cabin receives:

Also, see my review for Old.