“The premise of your scam is flawed.”
This line of dialogue is used in Knock at the Cabin, M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, and it could also be a metaphor to describe the trajectory of his career. For every Sixth Sense or Signs, there was The Last Airbender or After Earth.
Nevertheless, Shyamalan seems to have returned to making a good movie this time around.
Based on the novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, the movie tells the story of a family vacationing at a cabin. Their seven-year-old daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) befriends a gentle giant named Leonard (Dave Bautista) while they catch grasshoppers. Their interaction soon stops when Leonard’s three companions (Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint) show up and threaten the family.
The four of them tell the family that the world is coming to an end, and it requires the sacrifice of one of them in order to avert global catastrophe. The parents believe they are a delusional cult, but the four of them also explain that each of the four will die if the family refuses to choose which member will make the sacrifice.
Leonard explains how the catastrophes are Biblically related, and they correspond by showing the events he predicts are already happening on TV. Again, the family believes he’s delusional.
I have to admit that given Shyamalan’s checkered track record, I expected Knock at the Cabin to be a ludicrous, convoluted, and unintentionally hilarious mess. Some moviegoers will no doubt pick it apart and think it’s genuinely stupid.
While I don’t think it’s the epic disasters of some of his films like After Earth, it’s also not in the same league as The Sixth Sense.
I found myself intrigued by the performances and the atmosphere Shyamalan created. I was satisfied that the movie held my attention while certain questions about the plot gestated. I was entertained by the compelling idea that Shyamalan once again crafts a screenplay with just enough depth and logic that mostly makes sense, and the rest is just a countdown to the suspenseful climax.
Shyamalan can make a good movie when he chooses to look at the forest instead of the trees. This movie helps him rebound.
Grade: B
(Rated R for violence and language.)
