It could all be so simple…But you’d rather make it hard. In “Ex-Factor,” Lauryn Hill sang those words to convey the experience of a relationship that keeps failing despite the efforts to save it. At the same time, she unknowingly and accurately captured how movie lovers feel about M. Night Shyamalan.
No matter how we think he grows, Shyamalan always does something to let us know it ain’t working. Every The Sixth Sense, Signs, or Unbreakable trilogy is followed by The Village, The Last Airbender, or The Visit, with more misses than hits. Attempting to bounce back from his most recent dud, 2021’s Old, Shyamalan takes on the apocalypse in Knock at the Cabin.
Knock at the Cabin is the story of a family taken hostage by four strangers who claim to be part of a prophecy requiring a decision that can save or end the world. Like the rest of Shyamalan’s filmography, Knock at the Cabin has an interesting plot, but we know things can still go either way in terms of quality. Is Knock at the Cabin good M. Night or bad M. Night? Honestly, it’s as middle of the road as M. Night can get.
That unusually conservative vibe for a Shyamalan film starts with Knock at the Cabin not being anything close to horrifying as it could have been. Frankly, it barely registers as a thriller. It’s closer to a character study as it derives suspense through carefully placed revelations instead of tension created by a fast pace or villain. Think Stephen King’s The Stand sans the overarching evil Randall Flaggesque figure.
Does this mean fewer oohs and ahs? Absolutely. Less flash that makes you nod and say, “this is cinema”? For sure. On the flip side, it also means we get a straightforward film with less of the risks M. Night takes his signature twists that bomb more often than not. It makes Knock at the Cabin a little more predictable, but it still works because nothing about it feels forced or unnecessary.
A big part of Knock at the Cabin moving effortlessly and organic is the acting. It’s an ensemble effort, but Dave Bautista is the straw that stirs the drink of good performances. In a departure from his Guardians of the Galaxy and Glass Onion roles, Bautista shows he’s more than just brawn and jokes.
His monologues set the tone of Knock at the Cabin and are easily the most affecting parts of the film. He reveals a previously unseen range that allows him to be earnest, sympathetic, and ominous when necessary. The term wrestler turned actor no longer applies because he proved he’s a legit actor and a damn good one.
Rupert Grint impresses as much as Bautista, but with a bit more menace and less screen time. Nikki Amuka-Bird and Abby Quinn are perfect complements to Bautista and Grint, with Amuka-Bird’s tightrope between fear and nurturing and Quinn serving as the film’s sometimes comedic relief.
Knock at the Cabin doesn’t give us the good M. Night, but thankfully we don’t get the bad one either. By going the conservative route with this film, M. Night avoids the abstract traps in which his duds would lose themselves. Excellent performances from the cast, specifically Batista, also go a long way toward keeping this close to the good M. Night territory. It’s not his best work, and that’s ok because it’s far better than the worst.
Rocking with Shyamalan has been a battle. It feels unstoppable when it's good, but everyone ends up with scars when it's bad – he gets the bad reviews while we get the regret of wasting money and time. Thankfully, Knock at the Cabin is closer to the former than the latter.
Comentarios