Knock at the Cabin is a new one for M. Night Shyamalan. Without scaring his audience like in Devil or Split, his 2023 movie offers a more meaningful thriller rather than an intense horror. The only impediment is the slow journey to its eventual climax. Starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Rupert Grint, Ben Aldridge, Abby Quinn, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and last but not least, the young Kristen Cui, Knock at the Cabin presents an emotional rollercoaster. However, horror fans should be warned that they shouldn’t expect any death-defying jump scares or uber creepy moments. 

Set in a rural Pennsylvania rental cabin, 7-year-old Wen (Cui) is catching grasshoppers outside while enjoying a trip with her two dads, Eric (Groff) and Andrew (Aldridge). When the tall, muscular Leonard (Bautista) approaches her to promise her that they’re “friends” and that he won’t let anything happen to her, the little girl retreats to tell her dads about the intimidating group closing in on them with one unique threat: sacrifice one of themselves to prevent the apocalypse. 

With exceptional performances by Groff, Aldridge and Cui, Knock at the Cabin remains afloat in terms of its urgency; the Broadway actor and the former Our Girl star’s portrayals of dedicated parents and husbands were highlights of the movie, followed by Cui’s innocent, heart wrenching, and overall tangible fear. Alas, 75 percent of the film is mainly a slow progression toward what we’re already expecting – some sort of turning event — and so, viewers feel as if we’re absentmindedly jogging to a finish line that we can see far away from us. Shyamalan is known for his climactic endings, and he definitely delivers that in his newest mystery-thriller, but it could have used more urgency throughout its script. It’s better to give the audience a few curve balls while keeping them on track with the main pitch; viewers can feel like different throws come out of left field, but in the end, they can still foresee the conclusion coming right at them. 

The Old-Fashioned Aesthetic

Right from the start, Knock at the Cabin exudes an old-fashioned cinematic aura. From the beginning credits to the cinematography, and to the film score, Shyamalan made sure to introduce us to a story that we’re initially unsure of which time period it takes place in until, of course, we see a smartphone and modern television. 

Cinematographic choices elevated the thriller’s old-school movie feel. The zoom-ins and zoom-outs of certain characters’ faces, such as Leonard’s, establish a suspense that volleys back and forth throughout the story. The suspense is almost like a dull ache or a steady EKG; we don’t get a spike in urgency as much as we’d like to, but it’s still there. The stakes are high. We just can’t feel them as much as we could for a more effective story. 

On top of that, the entire plot is a nod to older films. The “doomsday” theme is something we laugh at now, but Shyamalan brought it back in a simple way: four random people break into a family’s vacation rental to try and convince them that the apocalypse is here. Since The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, we haven’t had as many action-drama worldwide apocalyptic films as much as before. So, it’s refreshing to watch a story delivered with a 1970s through 1990s cinematic approach return to the big screen.