‘Knock at the Cabin’ is tension-filled in all the right ways
The anticipated apocalyptic psychological horror film “Knock at the Cabin” was released in theaters across the United States on Friday, Feb. 3. The film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cul, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint. “Knock at the Cabin” is also directed and written by filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.
“Knock at the Cabin” follows a family of three, Eric (Groff), Andrew (Aldridge) and Wen (Cul), who are vacationing at a remote cabin in Pennsylvania when they are taken hostage by four intimidating strangers. The strangers, Leonard (Bautista), Sabrina (Amuka-Bird), Adriane (Quinn) and Redmon (Grint), claim to not be threatening, as they are simply there to save humanity from the apocalypse. They then set down an ultimatum, demanding that the tight-knit family must pick one of their own to sacrifice in order to save the world.
Throughout the film, we are shown various flashbacks from Andrew and Eric’s life, most of which are about their life experiences and struggles of being a gay couple. Eric is much calmer and more relaxed than Andrew. He thinks things through more and isn’t as brash. Andrew, on the other hand, has anger issues and is always on edge. As far as their views on the possible apocalypse go, Andrew believes this is all merely a coincidence and in fact a targeted attack by bigots, while Eric seems to be much more conflicted on whether this unthinkable proposal is real.
Wen is a typical child character. In the beginning, she makes a connection with Leonard because they both enjoy catching grasshoppers, which they do together in the woods. Once things become serious, though, Wen sticks by her dads and tries to cause distractions so Andrew and Eric can escape, such as running away or throwing a tantrum.
The star of this film is Leonard. Bautista absolutely proved himself to be both a versatile and underrated actor in Hollywood, as this role was more reliant on his ability to express himself and show emotion, rather than being a comedic fighter like his character in the Marvel movie “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Throughout the entire movie, he seems sincere, understanding and regretful that the couple and Wen must make this choice.
Andrew and Eric continuously say no to sacrificing a member of their family in order to save humanity. Every time they say no, however, one of the four strangers is killed, leading to three of their deaths. Despite their deaths and the strangers showing footage of the world going into chaos, such as a huge tsunami taking over the West Coast, a plague affecting young children and nearly thousands of planes mysteriously crashing down, they still don’t budge.
It isn’t until Leonard’s death that everything becomes clear. Earlier on, Eric had seen a vision, like the four strangers. The vision was about the world’s demise, further proving the point that one of them had to be sacrificed. Right before Leonard dies, he tells the couple that they will only have minutes to save the world after he goes.
Shortly after he goes, Eric tells Andrew to kill him in order to save humanity. Andrew initially refuses, until Eric opens up about the beautiful life Wen will get to live and how her life won’t be the same if everyone is wiped off the face of the world. After consideration, Andrew pulls the trigger. He goes back to Wen, and the two drive off and see that the world is slowing turning back to normal and humanity is saved.
“Knock at the Cabin” is a must-see for viewers who love the psychological aspect of films. While it isn’t perfect, as there are many moments where the film tends to drag, the tension throughout the movie is its saving grace.
