Knock at the Cabin

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.

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.

Shyamalan gets the most extremes sides far as reactions. People either love or hate his movies for his bizarre yet ambitious signature style. The fact that he approaches his films with a "swing away" attitude has gained my utmost respect since his mega hit Sixth Sense. Along the way there's been some strikeouts but within the last decade he's created a Renaissance for his films.

This particular book adaptation is yet another hit, and will be sure to get people talking. The premise starts out rather straightforward and you quickly find out the stakes are high and massive. The story will grab hold of you and shake you to the core with twists that even though you know are coming will still be shocking even for M Night's catalogue.

The acting is absolutely next level with Dave Bautista and Jonathan Groff putting in their raw emotions and prowess into every scene. They will make you feel the story relentlessly . The writing here is also relative and gutsy. The camerawork is as crisp as ever with fantastic wilderness settings and supreme angle work. The cgi for certain scenes used looks authentic and never cheap. The true standout has to once again be the leaps that the plot takes going into to daring territory . It never holds back which is commendable in a time like this.

Overall I would easily say that this film will be looked at as one of his stronger ventures and is highly thought provoking to a point where you'll need a second viewing. It gives the classic Shyamalan wonder and curiosity that make him one of the most intriguing directors /story tellers of our time.

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.

I have watched most of Night Shyamalan's movies and some I like a lot. But to me his ability to make interesting movies decreases as time goes by. The last one I watched was "Old" where people on a beach aged at an accelerated rate.

This one I stared watching streaming on Peacock. A family of three, two dads and a little girl, about to turn 8, are vacationing in a secluded cabin in the woods, somewhere in Pennsylvania. Very shortly after the movie begins four strangers show up, they want to talk, but break down the doors when the parents lock themselves in.

The most frustrating thing is how S-L-O-W-L-Y the four strangers tell them why there are there and what they need. It absolutely is audience abuse. They tell them all kinds of other things but "this is why we are here and what we need from you" comes out at such a prolonged rate that I found myself thinking, "He is only doing this to make the movie longer."

Well they eventually tell the family that their mission is probably the most important mission ever in the history of humanity. And what they tell the family needs to be done makes absolutely no sense at all.

My wife, wisely, chose to skip this one. I wish I had too, I might never watch a Night Shyamalan movie again. Doing so is just mostly a waste of time. This movie is NOT entertaining and it doesn't make sense.