Knock at the Cabin: A Twisty Movie Review
By: Mallory Johnson
The acclaimed director M. Night Shyamalan’s newest movie, Knock at the Cabin, came out recently. I saw it on Valentine’s Day with friends and enjoyed it. The film stars Jonathan Groff (Glee, Hamilton), Ben Aldridge (Spoiler Alert, Fleabag), Dave Bautista (The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Blade Runner 2049), Rupert Grint (the Harry Potter franchise, Servant), Nikki Amuka-Bird (The Outfit, Jupiter Ascending), Abby Quinn (Landline, Radium Girls), and Kristin Cui in her first movie role. The story follows a family who are on vacation, staying in an isolated cabin, who get a mysterious knock at their door. They are told by four strangers with weapons that they must make an impossible choice: they must sacrifice one member of their family, or the world will brutally end. Before I go any further, SPOILER ALERT. Also, trigger warnings for: murder (the gore happens off screen, but it still happens), blood, the apocalypse, fire, plane crashes, illness, family death, homophobia, homophobic violence, bugs, home invasion, violence, gun violence, restraint, kidnapping, audio gore, jump scares, suicide, PTSD, and natural disasters. The film is based on the book called The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.
The acting from Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Kristin Cui was amazing and some of the best performances in the movie. However, Dave Bautista stole the show more than once and I cannot wait to see him in more serious roles once he is no longer committed to Marvel. Throughout the film I had no idea who to believe, whether the fictional world was ending or if they were just pretending to force the family to make an awful choice. Ben Aldridge’s character was reasonable in his anger, fear, confusion, and ultimate sadness at the end.
Now, I am going to put in place another MAJOR SPOILER ALERT here because I will be discussing exactly how the movie ends, so please do not read on if you don’t want spoilers.
I enjoyed the movie, but I was a little disappointed about the ending. Considering M. Night Shyamalan is the mind behind iconic twisty movies like The Sixth Sense. I was shocked that there was no big twist at the end. Right as the credits rolled, I said to my friends, “Well, I guess the real twist is that there was no twist…” I expected the twist to be that the world was not actually ending, but the family would only find out after they made the horrible decision to do the sacrifice. I was sad when the sacrifice was made, and then when the surviving husband went to the diner with his daughter and watched the news, learning that the sacrifice worked. It was such a heartbreaking yet happy ending. I was so positive that I was catching the strangers in the act when I noticed that the newscasts were pre-recorded, but I was wrong. I felt like I could see the exact moment Jonathan Groff’s character started believing the strangers, “falling under their trap.” It was nice to see Jonathan in a more serious role, as I know him from the early season of Glee and as the King in Hamilton. I loved how he sang (for a very short scene) in the car with his family, and how that song was brought back in the ending. In one of the flashback scenes, when the two husbands pointed at each other and said “always together” I could tell where the movie was going. It was a tad predictable with the lack of a big twist, but I sometimes don’t mind a predictable movie. I am a huge fan of the Scream movie franchise, after all.
I loved how the story jumped into the plot right at the start and didn’t waste any time establishing what is going on. Dave Bautista’s character, Leonard, wasted no time being creepy when he sat down to catch grasshoppers with the young girl, named Wen, played by Kristin Cui. It creeped me out because I was thinking “what does an adult like him want with a girl as young as her.” Turns out it was harmless, but still. I also incorrectly thought there was a homophobic motive based on Leonard’s reaction to Wen’s two dads.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie and am glad that I saw it in theatres. I loved the tender family moments/their backstory scenes that were placed in between the present tense at the cabin. I loved how casual the queer representation was in the movie and the marketing. It’s not a “queer horror/thriller movie” it’s simply a horror/thriller movie that happens to have two gay men at the forefront. I give Knock at the Cabin a strong 8/10 and am excited to watch more spooky movies that are similar.