Knock at the Cabin is based on the National best selling novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay. The novel was published in 2018 and it seems like it made an impression on lot of people including M. Night Shyamalan. The screenplay for the film is written by M. Night Shyamalan, Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman. The premise of the movie surrounds around, “four strangers show up at a family’s cabin claiming that the end of the world is near. Only one thing will keep the apocalypse from happening, but it’s a solution that brings a great moral dilemma”. The film stars Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, Abby Quinn and Nikki Amuka-Bird. Shyamalan is always a filmmaker that is talked about whether in a good way or bad, whatever it is but his movies gets attention.
His career has taken a downward trajectory for quite some time now. He was at his best in the late nineties and early 2000s. Each new of Shyamalan gives us hope that maybe this time he has managed to exceed our expectations. Similarly I was looking forward to Knock at the Cabin but it just had its premiere and the critics seem to absolutely split in opinion of the film. The film has a 71% Rotten Tomatoes score which is likely to drop further. The film hasn’t opened up to the audience which is but still the current IMDb score is 6/10. Let’s see why the critics are agreeing with each other.
Knock at the Cabin Reviews Round-Up: Disappointing or Disorienting?
Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
“Alot of thematic baggage, maybe even too much, for one home-invasion thriller.”
Original Score: 2.5/4
William Bibbiani
TheWrap
“It’s a film with violence but no edge, just a disturbing idea which plays out to a grim and unsatisfying conclusion, unexplored and uninteresting.”
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
“Clever without being over-clever, it’s also earnest and affecting, and surprisingly non-silly as an exercise – like a taut installment of M Night Shyamalan Presents that finally dredges up his mojo.”
Original Score: 4/5
A.A. Dowd
Chron
“Shyamalan has tapped right into the paranoia of our age. He’s made a single-location potboiler that echoes the rapid proliferation of crackpot conspiracy theories and the powerful urge to doom scroll.”
Hannah Strong
Little White Lies
“Rushed but effective holiday horror.”
Original Score: 3/5
Leah Greenblatt
Entertainment Weekly
“The message is mostly lost in sentiment, and a lingering sense of the better, messier movie that might have been.”
Original Score: C+
Cary Darling
Houston Chronicle
“There has been a streak of entertaining horror-thrillers over the past few months, including “Barbarian,” “The Menu” and “M3GAN.” It’s nice to have you back in such good company, Mr. Shyamalan.”
Original Score: 4/5
David Fear
Rolling Stone
“The fact that Shyamalan seems to be working out some issues onscreen doesn’t stop him from crafting a thriller, and one which goes about its job with steady determination in Cabin’s cryptic, superior first half.”
David Sims
The Atlantic
“At the core of Shyamalan’s story is the idea that raising children in this world is an inherently tragic project.”
Hoai-Tran Bui
Inverse
“Shyamalan might have found his perfect collaborator in Bautista, who nails the tricky balance of earnest tone and stilted dialogue typical of the filmmaker’s movies, all while radiating a terrifying, unreadable fanaticism.”
Meagan Navarro
Bloody Disgusting
“Shyamalan gives his spin on the story, injecting recurring themes of faith and optimism. It yields a quickly paced but single-note and ineffectual apocalyptic tale.”
Original Score: 2/5
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
metro.co.uk
“Another commendably original tale of the unexpected from Shyamalan. One of his best.”
Original Score: 3/5
Chase Hutchinson
Seattle Times
“Shyamalan’s latest cinematic confrontation with mortality and meaning, “Knock at the Cabin,” is among his best work.”
Original Score: 3/4
Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times
“The more you realize where Shyamalan is leading us — and by this point, it’s not exactly a surprise destination — the more difficult it becomes to locate a worthwhile point.”
Matt Singer
ScreenCrush
“About as well-acted and intense as this kind of movie gets.”
Original Score: 6/10
Brian Truitt
USA Today
“A well-crafted intimate thriller that plays with your expectations and immerses you in a disconcerting situation.”
Original Score: 3/4
Clarisse Loughrey
Independent (UK)
“Hopefully, Knock at the Cabin will serve as a reminder that Shyamalan should be celebrated as much for his craftsmanship as he is for his shock tactics.”
Original Score: 4/5
David Lewis
San Francisco Chronicle
“It’s an apocalyptic dilemma that requires a suspension of disbelief — a whopping helping of disbelief — but the movie is still a taut, well-acted thriller.”
Original Score: 2.5/4
Peter Debruge
Variety
““Knock at the Cabin” takes a premise audiences think they know and does something unconventional and (alas) frustrating with it. Trouble is, these days, it’s no surprise to be let down by a Shyamalan movie.”
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
“Shyamalan’s previous film, the excellent horror-thriller Old, showed that he is certainly capable of maintaining a good idea to the finish line. Sadly, though, not this time.”
Original Score: 2/5
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
“Knock at the Cabin perpetually seems to be stalling for time, taffy-pulling its simplest setups and exchanges in order to tease out meaning and subtext.”
Original Score: 1.5/4
Ryan Lattanzio
indieWire
“As sturdily crafted as “Knock at the Cabin” may be, Shyamalan’s funny games never achieve the profundity they’re reaching for, ending up as a preachy end-times message movie wrapped up in a slick horror package.”
Original Score: C
Jake Cole
Slant Magazine
“The film takes its time delving into its characters’ headspaces, to the point that it becomes less of a thriller than an unorthodox character study, especially as its expertly deployed use of flashback slowly forms the emotional core of the story.”
Original Score: 3/4
Check out the Full Trailer for Knock at the Cabin on YouTube:
Tremblay the author of the original book talked about adaptations, he said, “I honestly spent a chunk of my 2022 spring quelling internet rumors and putting out Twitter fires connecting the book and movie,” Tremblay revealed. “It reached a point in early June where that became impossible, however, with all the information out there, including the IMDb page. I have been doing my part to be respectful of movie marketing desires and certainly wouldn’t dream of spoiling anything.”
Knock at the Cabin stars Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint.
Knock at the Cabin is slated to release in theatres near you on 3rd February 2023.
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