Over the course of his career, M. Night Shyamalan has been known for one thing: plot twists. While watching his films, you scour every inch of the frame in hopes of sussing out the next Big Reveal. The twist has been the director’s calling card since The Sixth Sense, but Shyamalan (who writes and casts all his films) is capable of much more than just shocks. When he’s at his best, and not making crap like The Last Airbender, he’s capable of creating a tense, spooky atmosphere to go along with his twisty narratives.
Knock at the Cabin is the director’s most visceral work since Signs, taking a premise we’ve seen a thousand times and twisting the formula. Cabin sees a family rent out a cabin in the woods–why are people still doing this?—and quickly discovering why the rest of us are looking at their cabin like, “hell no.”
Eight-year-old Wen (Kristen Cui) is catching grasshoppers in the forest when a man (Dave Bautista) comes up to her and asks her questions about her dads, Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge), only to turn around and wave. He has three friends with him.
Bautista is known for his campy roles, but he’s incredible when he’s let off the leash and allowed to show off his serious side. His performance here could have easily been Dwayne Johnson With a Knife, but he’s far too skilled an actor for that. Each of his scenes have an added layer of tension and gumption, and it’s hard to think of another actor who could have pulled off this level of physicality.
Leonard (Bautista) has gathered his friends to stop the apocalypse, which apparently will happen if one of the family members doesn’t kill themselves. It’s up to our trio to decide whether these guys are right or wrong, whether or not their visions are legit or just a way of messing with the couple. The three have to make a decision by nightfall or fight back, otherwise bodies will start piling up like pieces of firewood.
Though Leonard’s story adds a layer of depth, it’s still your basic cabin-in-the-woods set-up: a bunch of people are trapped in a cabin, and it’s up to the victims to find their way out.
Still, Shyamalan demonstrates a mastery over the horror genre, aided in no small part by cinematographer Jarin Blaschke. The camera swaps character point-of-view subtly, inhabiting both victim and villain, watcher and watched. As the tension builds, the camera makes you question just who is telling the truth here.
Shyamalan blurs the line between real and fake to create a powerful (if a bit facile) cinematic mind game. That concept has been the focal point of his career, and he tops it off with a twist that makes you question everything that came before it. It’s Shyamalan 101, and we couldn’t ask for anything more. 4/5
