Knock on the Cabin is a pretty straight forward film that is what it advertises itself to be. Four strangers show up at the cabin of a family of three and propose that one member must be sacrificed by another, willingly, in order to prevent the apocalypse. It's an intriguing concept and there's a lot that could be done with it. Unfortunately, Shyamalan doesn't make it all that interesting. The cast is wonderful, especially Dave Bautista, who once again proves that he has become a fine, charismatic actor.
Unfortunately, the concept proves to be the most exciting thing about the movie. There's a lot of dialogue and drama here, but none of it feels all that anticipatory. It's typical musings about belief and and apocalyptic forewarnings. One thing that Shyamalan does succeed in is creating tension in spurts, using cinematography and editing that has come to define a lot of his movies. But these come in waves and it's almost always very tame. I will also say that, after a brief look at the book and how the story unfolds, it feels like Shyamalan went safe with this movie. It's neither all that shocking, nor scary. There are also a bunch of useless flashbacks that feel forced and added in to pad the film out.
At the very least, there are a handful of exciting scenes that almost feel like they go hand in hand with the very seldom parts of The Happening that were actually enjoyable. I gave the film the stars I did for Shyamalan creating some legitimate tension, the acting, and the intriguing story. Unfortunately, this isn't a movie I really have much of a desire to see again. The ending is pretty predictable, which is kind of sad considering it's Shyamalan, and a lot of what happens just isn't all that interesting or surprising. That said, this is probably his best film since Split, for whatever that's worth.
Unfortunately, the concept proves to be the most exciting thing about the movie. There's a lot of dialogue and drama here, but none of it feels all that anticipatory. It's typical musings about belief and and apocalyptic forewarnings. One thing that Shyamalan does succeed in is creating tension in spurts, using cinematography and editing that has come to define a lot of his movies. But these come in waves and it's almost always very tame. I will also say that, after a brief look at the book and how the story unfolds, it feels like Shyamalan went safe with this movie. It's neither all that shocking, nor scary. There are also a bunch of useless flashbacks that feel forced and added in to pad the film out.
At the very least, there are a handful of exciting scenes that almost feel like they go hand in hand with the very seldom parts of The Happening that were actually enjoyable. I gave the film the stars I did for Shyamalan creating some legitimate tension, the acting, and the intriguing story. Unfortunately, this isn't a movie I really have much of a desire to see again. The ending is pretty predictable, which is kind of sad considering it's Shyamalan, and a lot of what happens just isn't all that interesting or surprising. That said, this is probably his best film since Split, for whatever that's worth.