The M. Night Shyamalan Mystery Thriller On Peacock Everyone Is Sleeping On
Knock at the Cabin has remained largely below the radar, and it’s a shame. While not a wholly original film, as it’s based on the novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, the adaptation is loose enough that The Sixth Sense director made it his own. It is one of the more thoughtful, personal films I’ve seen by M. Night Shyamalan, and if you’ve got Peacock, you can stream it for free.
A Horrifying Premise
I’ve long been a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, and I love to follow a good director when I find one. Still, I had no idea Knock at the Cabin was one of his. Indeed, I only saw the movie at all because there was nothing else showing, and it was snowing outside while I was on a date with my husband. I looked up the info on the film, saw that it was a Shyamalan piece, and bought the tickets.
I’m so glad I did. The film is marketed as a horror film, but I am not a horror film fan anymore, so it gave me pause at first. I should have known better. It’s more of a thriller than a horror movie. It’s got some gore, but very little. I suppose it’s considered horror because the premise is horrifying.
A Doomsday Prediction
Knock at the Cabin opens up with a seven-year-old little girl, Wen, playing in the woods. She and her two dads, Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and Eric (Jonathan Groff), are on vacation at this lovely cabin in the woods. Wen is alone when a man (Dave Bautista) approaches her, introduces himself as Leonard, and starts talking very kindly to her.
He asks her where her dad is and if she can take him there. The scene is quiet and creepy. You’re wondering the whole time if he’s going to kidnap her, kill the dads, murder everyone.
Suddenly, three other people come out of the woods and approach the residence to knock at the cabin with Wen. Adriane (Abby Quinn), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), and Redmond (Rupert Grant) join Leonard as they ask to be let into the cabin. Of course, the dads grab their daughter and refuse to let the strangers in. The strangers are relentless and tell the family that they need their help to save the world.
Cancel The Apocalypse
They gather makeshift weapons, break into the house, and tie up Eric and Andrew, asking Wen to sit down with her dads. They then explain that they are strangers who have never met and that each of them was guided by a supernatural force (we can assume it’s some sort of god) to knock at the cabin and offer this family a chance to save humanity.
As they explain it, the family has to decide which one of the three of them will sacrifice him or herself, and the family has to kill that person. If they do that, they can stop the global catastrophes that are now taking place.
The Tension Keeps Rising With Each Revelation
Obviously, Eric and Andrew refuse to believe the strangers, but they turn the television on to reveal that planes are falling from the sky, a plague is spreading rapidly through the earth, and volcanoes are erupting. As each moment ticks by, more people are dying across the globe. I hesitate to reveal anything more from Knock at the Cabin because what makes it so terrifying is what happens next.
Streaming On Peacock
REVIEW SCORE
Dave Bautista does a superb job of telling the story and leading his cohort in Knock at the Cabin. The little girl who plays Wen, Kristen Cui, is spectacular as this daughter is terrified to lose one or both of her fathers, and Groff and Eldridge display so much love for each other in this film that you believe they are a family to make the worst possible decision ever. I walked out of the theater and sat silently for at least an hour, unable to think of anything else.
Stream Knock at the Cabin on Peacock the next time you’re in the mood for an intense ride. I’m sitting here anxiously awaiting M. Night Shyamalan’s next masterpiece.
