Knock at the Cabin
Knock at the Cabin
Starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Kristen Cui
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Married same-sex couple Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) take their adopted soon-to-be-eight-year-old daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) to a remote cabin in the woods for some relaxation and to get away from a society that still isn't fully willing to accept their love. All is going well until Wen meets the mysterious stranger Leonard (Dave Bautista), who's imposing size is masked by his gentle talkative nature. He tells Wen that he and his friends Adriane (Abby Quinn), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), and Redmond (Rupert Grint) have come to the cabin after having shared visions, and need their help. They break into the cabin and tie Eric and Andrew up and tells them that they need to pick one of them to sacrifice, and if they don't then the world will end.
The concept is a solid one, and one that could've been more intriguing if it was explored more. Yet as it was, the film was overly long and drawn out with repetitive, circular reasoning: Leonard asks if they'll make a choice, Andrew says no, something bad happens in the world, Andrew tries to explain it away, Eric looks more like he's siding with the others, and then it all starts again. There are hints that the story could've been more profound, and a wraparound flashback story of Eric and Andrew coming together that's way more interesting than the main plot, but ultimately all those tangents amounted to nothing, resulting in a lackluster endeavor that shows all its cards at the very start, muddling around the middle, and culminating in an ending with more of a shrug than a shudder.
There's the whole concept that a gay couple is forced to kill one of their own in order to save mankind, which hearkens back to the Old Testament days where homosexuality was treated as a sin punishable by death (and in many countries in the world, that's still the case), so asking them to off one of their own for the sake of mankind is a dark theme indeed, which adds a darker morality tale than if the couple found in the cabin was a straight couple. It feels very morbid, and Shyamalan is well known for infusing his own sense of religiosity into his work, and here it's definitely pronounced (although this is based off a novel by Paul Tremblay, and apart from the location, general theme, and names, it's VASTLY different, and honestly would've been a better story to put to film), as talks about religion and sin is discussed but no finite answers are given.
That's not to say the film is bad, actually it's one of Shyamalan's best works (although anyone who knows of his extensive and well-known record, that might not be saying much) due to strong, committed performances and the tangents that ask the tough, commanding questions about society as a whole. Leonard and company didn't know each other and were brought together by shared visions of an apocalypse, and those visions brought them to that cabin not knowing who was inside, so the fact that it was a married gay couple with an adopted Asian daughter was merely coincidence...or was it? Again, there's fleeting moments where it appears that there's a more nefarious purpose to their arrival, but those moments are never fully flushed out.
Something else I appreciate is the fact that the characters here are fully fleshed out, and they don't perform with a completely monotone cadence. Shyamalan's 2021 film "Old" was something that could've been better if it took this route, but the characters reacted to the fact that they were getting older at an accelerated rate with the same amount of fear as ordering a Big Mac at McDonald's. Here, you sense the fear and apprehension in Eric and Andrew's voices, and the steadfast, almost cult-like dedication of Leonard and company, while still expressing their own possible doubts and disbelief mixed with their resolve. These aren't caricatures, but people who believe the world is about to end, and it's something they don't want to see happen. They're not monsters (or maybe they are, considering the couple that they're targeting), so they're not really relatable per-see, but they're not ravenous mindless murdering machines either.
The performances across the board are profound and well done, especially Dave Bautista, who's grandiose nature underlies a melancholia that's jarring, seeing such a soft-spoken nature coming from a brute of a man. He's just a second grade teacher, and doesn't wish harm on anyone - but a choice has to be made. Nikki Amuka-Bird's Sabrina is a nurse who tends to Eric's wounds. Abby Quinn's Adriane is a line cook who has a son, but someone who's easily swayed in her opinions, and "Harry Potter" mainstay Rupert Grint's Redmond is the wrathful one, someone who wants them to make a choice as soon as possible and the one most likely who would resort to violence.
On the other end of the spectrum there's Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and newcomer Kristen Cui, who play the modern nuclear family Eric, Andrew, and Wen. While they try to not adhere to the gay couple stereotype, it happens as Groff's Eric is quiet, reserved, more emotional, and more cautious while Aldridge's Andrew is more hot-headed, angry at a world that doesn't accept who he is, and who seeks out rational explanations to everything. Cui's Wen is a star in the making, tackling her first big role with a gusto of an actress twice her age, and absolutely nails the heart and soul essence of the film.
While "Knock at the Cabin" does offer insightful thoughts about not just the unthinkable decision of choosing your family or humanity, it also delves into the prejudices and the possibility of people following blindly a truth that they think is real but really isn't (something that's much more prevalent with our current political climate). Were Eric and Andrew really chosen by chance, or was there a higher power that put them in that situation...or were they being targeted for awhile? Do Leonard and company really believe what they're doing is a mission from God, or are they showcasing their prejudices in the most subtle ways possible? Does the world's end really depend on a couple making a decision like this? The film does leave you with questions and debates, and helps make it something more memorable than a slightly above-average Shyamalan affair.
The Score: A-
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