M. Night Shyamalan is the definitive king of big twists. His entire filmography is stuffed to the brim with unpredictable moments that’ll have you on the edge of your seat.
Spoiler alert: But who could forget the fact that Bruce Willis was dead the whole time in The Sixth Sense? Or the fact that Samuel L Jackson orchestrated every major plot point in Unbreakable? Talk about truly iconic cinema.
However, Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Knock at the Cabin, truly takes the cake when it comes to taking an audience down a pathway of twists. Moreover, it’s so good that it should be added to Shyamalan’s pantheon of classic films.
Knock at the Cabin is about a family on holiday when their cabin is targeted by a group of intruders. This family is then tied up and told something buck wild: They must willingly sacrifice one of their loved ones, or planet Earth will be destroyed.
The members of this family are then faced with an impossible decision. Either they trust the bold claims of their captors or risk everything. So, before the end of this story, does this fam kill one of their own? Do they turn against each other only to discover the apocalypse doesn’t happen?
Or does this fam refuse to play by their captor’s rules? And does doing so result in the end of humankind? Or, yet again, does Knock at the Cabin end in another unexpected way? Well, as previously mentioned, Shyamalan is the king of twists. And there’s only one satisfying way you will get the answer to these questions.
Knock at the Cabin’s titular family is made up by Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Kristen Cui. The chemistry between these actors is palpable and a joy to behold. You can’t help but root that they somehow escape this thrilling situation unscathed.
Meanwhile, the main intruder is performed by Dave Bautista. In Knock at the Cabin, Bautista gives the inscrutable performance of a lifetime. Is Bautista a villain preying upon this family? Or is he someone trapped in a bad situation, someone who is actually trying to prevent Earth from dying? It’s only in the film’s final moments that his truth is brought to the surface.
The final actor worth mentioning is Shyamalan. That’s right, the director himself cameos in his own movie. I won’t spoil it here, but Shyamalan’s cameo is both brief and hilarious. If you get another bucket of popcorn during the film, you might miss one of the cheekiest performances of 2023.
Moreover, Knock at the Cabin isn’t just an action-packed time, it’s a movie built on ambitious ideas. Strident ideological beliefs are at the core of this film. This piece of cinema discusses what being in a same-sex relationship means in 2023. It also explores what it’s like existing on a planet that’s recently swung from crisis to crisis.
Nevertheless, to unpack Knock at the Cabin’s thought-provoking takes right now would be premature. This is because doing so would spoil some of the film’s major twists, pivots, and turns.
If you’re a fan of thrillers, then this movie is for you. If you love Shyamalan’s classics, then this movie is for you. If you want to experience a series of twists that’ll knock your socks off, then this move is for you.
Knock at the Cabin: Save your family or save humanity. Make the Choice. Only in cinemas February 2.
