Knock at the Cabin

Apocalyptic films usually are made with large scale budgets due to it involving worldwide catastrophes and a large number of people trying to survive, which is why Knock at the Cabin  is the rare one in the genre having a limited setting and a small cast that works effectively. Adapted from a 2018 novel by Paul G. Tremblay, director M. Night Shyamalan and his cowriters, Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, craft a much more personal story interweaving apocalyptic tropes with homophobic fears. The film sees Eric and Andrew, a gay couple, with their adopted daughter Wen who are vacationing at a remote cabin in rural Pennsylvania. They are soon attacked by a group of people, with the leader played by Dave Bautista, who believe that they have received the same visions and calls that told them they must give the family a choice. That choice being that they have to decide who of the three will be killed otherwise the world will suffer the apocalypse. Shyamalan's signature odd and eccentric style perfectly suits this movie, being very moderately paced and starting out never being sure if the apocalyptic events are real or having been faked just so the group can have an excuse to hurt the family, either because they're mentally unstable or are religiously homophobic. Alongside Bautista, you've got Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Rupert Grint, Nikki Asuka-Bird, Abby Quinn, and newcomer Kristen Cui who all give powerful, though often nuanced, performances. Even when some of the dialogue is a bit clunky and some goes a bit too long, all of the cast, especially Bautista, manage to make it work. Cinematographers Jarin Blaschke and Lowell A. Meyer and editor Noemi Katharina Preiswerk all help enhance the dark mood. The movie makes good use of daylight horror while slowly getting into a darker atmosphere once apocalyptic events keep happening whenever the family refuses to choose. While the editing keeps you locked in to the suspense with the excruciatingly long takes that keeps you on the edge over what happens next. Although certain camera movements and brief shot lingers due often ruin some of that good editing, but they are rather small. If there's one genre that suits Shyamalan's trade mark is horror, and Knock at the Cabin is definitely a good example of such style, though not without its flaws. Over all: 93%

2023 top list so far:

1. M3GAN

2. Knock at the Cabin