M. Night Shyamalan has come out with a new film. There has not been a director who has faced such a massive dip in reputation that Shyamalan has faced. Every new film that he makes always has a possibility of being great but more often than not they don’t work. Many directors that are currently working come out with new films which may not necessarily be their best but they’re definitely worthy of attention with Shyamalan you don’t have that guarantee, unfortunately. It hurts me to be the one who says this but I have to be honest and manage my expectations. Knock at the Cabin from the time I’d heard seemed like film which would be one of those underrated projects of famous directors which has the potential to be their best work.
This was not some extravagant, ostentatious films which will have only ambition and no material. The reviews from the critics did prove my prediction to be wrong as they were divided then I’d assumed. Still I had hope that I would fall on the positive side of people. However, after watching the film I have to say that I don’t.
Knock at the Cabin Review: Its Not Just A Home Invasion Thriller, Its Worse!
Rating – ★
I’m really going to keep this one short as I have been more than disappointed with this film. It is not a home invasion trailer, which is true enough. Knock at the Cabin is definitely different but for the worse as the elements that have been changed work against the film and don’t elevate its quality. As I am someone who is studying how to adapt books into screenplays, I really have a question for the makers of the film. Why did they adapt this? See, I have not read it the original book which has the same title.
However, if it is anything like what I saw today then it is not a great thriller. Which works on the book level because while reading there are many other factors that count in. Literature is a far open and liberal form that allows a lot of elements gel together to give us a richer experience. On the other hand, cinema is a much sharper experience, which demands a syntax of its own. Except for the starting few minutes there is no tension in the film. The people who have invaded themselves are not killing the hostages or even torturing them.
They’re trying to convince then with words to kill one of their family members. We already know that these people are not going to kill them, which instantly relaxes us. Out of the four invaders, each one of them kills themselves every time the family denies to make a choice. Which they bludgeon themselves to death, every time Shyamalan finds a reason not to show it. At first he takes the shot from a weird angle that doesn’t allow us to see anything clearly, second time he just cuts to a b-roll shot of the house and finally he simply doesn’t show us.
The world ending element of Knock at the Cabin was refreshing and interesting but little to no explanation is provided about it. We don’t know why this phenomenon is happening and why is this family so special for the world to survive. Another weird editing choice is cutting to the couple’s past life in the middle of the invasion. Every time it happened, it threw me off. I understand we should know about the characters and connect to them emotionally but this way where it compromises the tension, I don’t understand that.
The camera work and direction on the underwhelming script is decent as it is apt and driven by narrative. The performances are truly the only thing which I can count as a positive. Everyone has done well to keep our eyeballs on screen. All the actors in the film are famous and I’ve liked their past works so them being good isn’t a surprise. The one thing which I’m constantly thinking is what did the makers of the film see in the source material that made them adapt it. Whatever it was it definitely didn’t reflect in the final product.
Verdict
To conclude, Knock at the Cabin is a film which tries to be different but just turns out to be worse than a normal home invasion thriller. It is bland, ambitionless and lackluster. I’d rate it 1 out of 5 stars. The film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint. It is currently playing in theatres near you.
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