Llaman a la puerta

For some reason, despite a few bombs, I've always rooted for M. Night Shyamalan. I don't know ... he just seems like a good guy and someone who I would like to have as a neighbor maybe.

In addition to being a seemingly likeable person, he made one or two really great films (at least one, for sure) and for some reason that just adds to his likeability. The problem with this, is that because of his seemingly genuine affability and because of the one or two good films he has made, I always feel as if he has it in him to create something exceptional, and time and time and again I think that the 'next one' will BE the one ... only to find that it isn't. So is the case with his latest offering, Knock at the Cabin. With The Cabin At the End of the World (which was the source material for Knock at the Cabin), he even started off with more than half of the recipe for something amazing.

The fact that it falls SOOOO short of being so, is truly a shame, and makes me wonder if he will really ever reach the heights of another 'The Sixth Sense'.

In order to avoid a Spoiler Tag I will not go into detail, but there was ZERO FILMED backstory to any of the important characters, and the filming of the backstories (and getting to know at least a little about each of them) was NECESSARY / paramount for this film to work. Having each character just speak about themselves for what amounted to a handful of minutes, was the worst.

Just so you know where I'm coming from up front, I should preface this review by saying I'm not the biggest M. Night Shyamalan fan - in fact, I kind of like to tease and mock his movies when I watch them with friends. I think he often starts off with interesting ideas but, perhaps because of his early success with The Sixth Sense, always feels this need to cram in some kind of ridiculous twist (or multiple twists) at the end. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't - but he seems to rely on the surprise of the twist to win people over too much. It was a surprise to me then when this movie didn't have a twist at all. I kept waiting for it - but it never came.

That's not really a good thing though because the movie is very slow and plodding, never really going anywhere, and at 1hr 40min the premise just isn't engaging enough to sustain interest for the duration. It's not all bad though. Perhaps the most surprising thing is Dave Bautista, who delivers a nuanced understated performance as Leonard. I still remember when I used to assume a movie was going to be bad if Bautista was in it - but over the past few years he has really come into his own as an actor and is showing his ability to take on some interesting roles.

While I can't really recommend this movie I do have to give it a few bonus points just for Bautista.

I don't know why I keep on falling for it. I keep on watching movies by M Night Shyamalan, and continue to hope to walk away with the excitement and awe I felt when I watched movies like The Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Visit. Instead, I keep on walking away shaking my head, thinking about the lost potential and opportunity. He continues to have very interesting ideas with very poor execution. The concept of this movie is excellent. The directorial choices, the storyline, the decisions made by characters were to be honest with you kind of blah. I didn't care enough about any of the characters to really care what happened to them. For a director that's known for his plot twists, this movie sure could've used one.

Back from an advance screening of M. Night Shyamalan's Knock At The Cabin, I think it'll be polarizing and nerds will say iT's NoT hOrRoR, but I really liked it. It was very intense, the action starts up RIGHT away, and crazyyy good performances by every single actor. Gold star for Dave Bautista 🌟 It pulled off a few visuals and events I've never seen portrayed in a movie and they were pretty chilling. Also had some really cool camera work and transitions. I also think the end could be taken a few different ways which I really like. Go see it, and decide for yourself what happened. For me it was one of Shyamalan's best in a long time.

In a world of sequels and IP M. Night Shyamalan continues to give us interesting and original stories. And he tends to get a lot of flack for them sadly. People want original content but then destroy it every time it comes along. It's no wonder we can't have nice things. 'Knock at the Cabin' isn't perfect, but it's certainly a fun ride.

The film starts out as a mystery. We don't know what is going on and everything seems very strange and is not making a lot of sense. It's a good way to start a movie. Then we are let in on what is going on and things become particularly interesting. It's at this point that you simply must turn your brain off to logic to get through the rest of the film. Because much like a lot of religion it doesn't make a lick of sense.

Where the film let me down was the ending. The book has such a thought-provoking and interesting ending. To get the movie made they were obviously told they would have to change that. It's very disappointing but it's sadly where we are in the world of film. Everyone is afraid they might offend the 1% so the 99% miss out.

Still though, the first 9/10 of the movie are a pretty damn good time and are well worth your dollar. 7/10.