Knock at the Cabin

Knock at the Cabin is an upcoming American apocalyptic psychological horror film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who wrote the screenplay from an initial draft by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman. It is based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay; the first adaptation of one of his works. The film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint. In the film, a family of three are vacationing at a remote cabin, but they are suddenly held hostage by four strangers, who demand they sacrifice one of their own to avert the apocalypse.
Knock at the Cabin had its premiere at the Rose Hall in New York on January 30, 2023 and was released in the United States on February 3, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for Shyamalan's direction, the cinematography and Bautista's performance, though the screenplay and self-serious tone divided critics.
==Plot==
Seven-year-old Wen is vacationing with her parents, Eric and Andrew, at their remote cabin in rural Pennsylvania. While catching grasshoppers, Wen is approached by a stranger named Leonard. Initially charming, he explains that he needs Wen and her parents' help to save the world. However, while Wen and Leonard spend time together catching grasshoppers, she becomes suspicious when three other people appear with makeshift weapons. Wen flees to warn Eric and Andrew, but the visitors break into the cabin and tie them up, with Eric sustaining a concussion.
Leonard and his companions—Sabrina, Adriane, and Redmond—claim that they have never met before this day and have no intention of harming the family. However, in the past week, they have been driven by visions and an unknown force to find the family. The group foresees an impending apocalypse in which Leonard claims oceans will rise, a pandemic will spread, the sky will fall, and darkness will envelop the earth. The only way to prevent this is for the family to sacrifice one of their own. They are warned that, although they will survive the apocalypse, if they do not make a choice, they will be the last people alive. Eric and Andrew suspect that the group is lying and that the attack is motivated by hatred and delusion.
When the family refuses to make a choice, the visitors sacrifice Redmond by covering his head with a cloth and beating him to death with their weapons. A concussed Eric sees a figure of light as Redmond dies. On television, media reports show devastating megatsunamis, which Leonard declares is the beginning of the apocalypse. Andrew recognizes Redmond, whom he believes to be Rory O'Bannon, a homophobic man who had assaulted him in a bar years prior, leading to Rory's imprisonment. Andrew thinks that Rory tracked him down for revenge. Leonard, Sabrina, and Adriane question Andrew's assumption and grapple with their guilt, but still hold onto their visions. They reveal that Redmond's death has unleashed the first disaster. The next day, the intruders sacrifice Adriane as the family remains indecisive. The disasters continue as a deadly flu virus, to which children are particularly vulnerable, spreads across the world.
Andrew insists that the disasters are coincidental and that the visitors were anticipating a pre-scheduled news broadcast. Sabrina describes how she and the other visitors were led to find each other online by their visions. Andrew escapes, retrieves his gun from his car, and shoots at Sabrina until she flees. He finds Redmond's wallet and proves to Leonard that he was Rory. Injured from his attack and with their tires slashed, Andrew believes the four came in a truck nearby and suggests that they use it to escape. As Leonard is being held at gunpoint, Sabrina breaks into the house and is fatally shot by Andrew. Eric and Andrew then lock Leonard in the bathroom. Leonard tricks Andrew into coming into the bathroom by making him think he escaped through the window, and then overpowers him, stealing the gun.
Leonard sacrifices Sabrina and the broadcast shows spontaneous plane crashes occurring around the world. Realizing their time is nearly over, Leonard leads the three to the back deck as the sky darkens. Leonard informs them that after his death, they will only have a few minutes to make a decision before slashing his own throat. Upon his death, lightning causes fires and more planes to crash. Eric now believes that the events are real, and that the intruders represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Not wanting Wen to grow up in a destroyed world, Eric offers himself as the sacrifice. He reveals that during Redmond's sacrifice he saw a vision of Andrew and an adult Wen. Eric feels that their family was chosen to make the sacrifice because their love was pure. Reluctantly, Andrew shoots and kills Eric before lightning strikes, setting the cabin on fire.
Andrew and Wen find the visitors' truck with belongings that corroborated their stories. They drive to a crowded diner nearby, where they watch news reports confirming that the disasters have subsided. Returning to the truck, the radio turns on and plays "Boogie Shoes" by KC and the Sunshine Band, the song Eric had played for them on their drive to the cabin.
==Cast==
*Dave Bautista as Leonard
*Jonathan Groff as Andrew
*Ben Aldridge as Eric
*Nikki Amuka-Bird as Adriane
*Kristen Cui as Wen
*Abby Quinn as Sabrina
*Rupert Grint as Redmond
*M. Night Shyamalan as an infomercial host
==Production==
Knock at the Cabin is an adaptation of the 2018 horror novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay. The author had signed an option with FilmNation Entertainment in late 2017, prior to the book's publication, and had to keep secret that the film was based on one of his novels until July 2022. The Black List and GLAAD List listed the initial draft by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman as one of the most popular unproduced screenplays of 2019. While another director was briefly attached, M. Night Shyamalan read the original screenplay and grew interested in producing. Shyamalan later rewrote the script and came on board to direct the project as part of a two-film partnership between Universal Pictures and his production banner Blinding Edge Pictures. Old (2021) was the first film in that deal, with Knock at the Cabin being the second. The first draft was halfway completed by July 2021, and the title was revealed in October. Shyamalan said the script was the fastest he had ever written in his career.
Castings were announced from December 2021 to July 2022. They included Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ben Aldridge, Jonathan Groff, and Abby Quinn. The film reunites Shyamalan with Grint and Amuka-Bird, who starred in Servant and Old, respectively. Shyamalan cited Bautista's performance in Blade Runner 2049 (2017) as the reason he wanted him to star in Knock at the Cabin. Principal photography took place in Burlington County, New Jersey, from April 19 to June 10, 2022, with cinematographer Jarin Blaschke. Shyamalan shot the film with 1990s lenses to give it an "old-school thriller" look. During post-production, Herdís Stefánsdóttir composed the score.
==Release==
Knock at the Cabin premiered in New York City at Rose Hall on January 30, 2023 and was released in theaters on February 3, by Universal Pictures, alongside 80 for Brady. It was originally going to be released on February 17 before being pushed up to avoid competition with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
==Box office projections==
As of February 12, 2023, Knock at the Cabin has grossed $23.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $13.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $36.7 million.
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside 80 for Brady, and was projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,643 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $5.4 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $14.2 million, displacing Avatar: The Way of Water from atop the box office. The film made $5.5 million in its second weekend (a drop of 61%), finishing in sixth.
==Reception==
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 68% based on 273 reviews with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Although it's often less than scary and parts of the story don't bear scrutiny, Knock at the Cabin is a thought-provoking chiller and upper-tier Shyamalan." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 59 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 56% positive score, with 35% saying they would definitely recommend it.
==Gallery==
Knock at the Cabin - Official Trailer
Knock at the Cabin - Official Trailer 2
==References==
==External links==
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Category:2023 films
Category:2023 horror films
Category:American psychological horror films
Category:Apocalyptic films
Category:Blinding Edge Pictures films
Category:Films directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Category:Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Category:Films produced by M. Night Shyamalan
Category:Films shot in New Jersey
Category:Films with screenplays by M. Night Shyamalan
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:Films based on American novels
Category:2020s American films
Category:LGBT-related horror films
Category:2023 in film
Category:2023 American films
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