Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of February 6, 2023
Knock at the Cabin
Rated R for violence and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
In Theaters
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest horror flick follows a young gay couple (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) who are just trying to experience a little vacation at their lake cabin with their adopted daughter, when 4 strangers (including Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint) show up at their cabin demanding that they choose one member of their family to sacrifice in order to stop an impending apocalypse that would destroy the world. Based on the award-winning horror novel “The Cabin at the End of the World” by Paul Tremblay (which is a far superior title also) the film is a bit of a departure for Shyamalan, who is best known for his original, out-of-left-field twisty endings. While there are some interesting surprises, its kind of nice to have a film from him in which you aren’t just trying to figure out how he is going to fool you. What I liked most about this movie though is his masterful usage of suspense. I found myself literally glued to my seat and fully zoomed-in wondering what could happen next and how our heroes will escape, or even if they should. There is a little bit of cheesiness in regards to the events happening on the news and how those events are handled, but in the cabin there is a spirit of bleakness that is tangible. Thankfully, the performances, from Bautista down to the young daughter (wonderfully played by 8 year-old Kristen Cui), are just what this kind of story needed in order to make it both believable and effective. The narrative itself isn’t going to win any awards and the film isn’t the scariest of tales, but you do get an entertaining two hours and you won’t feel like you wasted your money when the credits start rolling. B-