With The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs as his first three major films,
and the last of these was way back in 2002, M. Night Shyamalan set a
standard, in terms of quality and entertainment value, that he has
struggled the bring to his films since then. The Village (2004) Lady in the
Water (2006) and The Happening (2008) all met with less than favourable
reviews from both critics and the public.
Thankfully Shyamalan has got back to some kind of form with Knock at the
Cabin which is arguably his best film since Signs (2002).
Unlike some of Shyamalan’s previous films there’s no head scratching plot
with this and it’s all the more enjoyable for that.
Plot wise your best to know as little as possible, so no spoilers here. The
basic premise is whilst vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her
parents (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) are taken hostage by four armed
strangers (Dave Bautista, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint and Nikki Amuka-Bird)
who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the
apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, unsurprisingly
there’s no phone signal, the strangers set about trying to convince their
three captives that only they can stop the end the end of the world
Helped by a terrific cast, Bautista is a stand out and proves that there’s
more to him than what we have seen in Guardians of the Galaxy, Shyamalan
has crafted a film that’s tense, moving and a terrific piece of cinema.
