Knock at the Cabin is M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie. The last one, Old, wasn't that long ago, as that was 2021. The director seems to be back on a role, with this one doing much better critically. It's based on a book called The Cabin at the End of the World which was written by Paul G. Tremblay in 2018.
M. Night Shyamalan seems to do better when he is adapting stories, although that is not always the case. Avatar the Last Airbender was panned by both critics and fans. History aside, let's get to the heart of the plot of Knock at the Cabin and see what didn't make sense and if there were any questions left lingering. There will be spoilers.
8 Why Them?
Why Andrew, Eric, and Wen were chosen to make the decision they had to is not explained in the movie. Leonard makes it seem like he, and the others saw visions of the cabin and not the people inside. Andrew and Eric both ask consistently why they were chosen but that may be the wrong question they should have been asking. What if the cabin or the ground was sacred? Could that be the reason why the three of them had to endure a tough choice for the sake of humanity?
7 Why Did They Use Elaborate Weapons?
Leonard and his fellow Four Horseman equivalents each bring a weapon to the cabin which they claim are just tools. If they didn’t want to seem imposing to whoever was inside the cabin, why bring those weird “tools” when a gun or a knife could have sufficed? All they had to do was be sacrificed to unleash a plague on humanity. It didn’t seem like their tools were sacred which is proved when Leonard takes his life with a simple knife. That is unless that was an inconsistency with the plot and their tools actually were important.
6 Why Walk To The Cabin?
There are a lot of things that didn’t make sense with the group’s approach to the cabin. Why did they park so far away from the cabin? They weren’t planning on sneaking inside as they knocked at first to be polite.
The simple answer may be that they didn’t want Andre, Eric, and Wen to have an escape vehicle. But, without keys, the truck would have been useless anyway. Was there another reason, or was this done simply to build tension early on in Knock at the Cabin? As a thriller film, watching them walk through the forest was chilling.
5 Why Were Eric and Andrew Horrified By The Sacrifices?
At first, Andrew, Eric, and Wen were scared of being cornered in their cabin. After the first sacrifice, their horror turned to a new direction when they started thinking Leonard’s group was a cult. It fits since horror films love to make movies about cults. The entire time Andrew is desperately trying to free himself from his bindings through more sacrifices. Why was he, and Eric eventually, so keen on stopping them from sacrificing themselves? If Leonard’s story was made up as they assumed, couldn’t they have just waited it out? If no one was left alive then their problems would have been over.
4 The Haystack Rock Footage
The footage on the beach was shot at Haystack Rock which is a famous landmark in Oregon. It’s been in a few movies, but most prominently it can be seen in the 80s classic, The Goonies. Now, when the reporter cuts to the footage, it shows the cameraman going underwater after a wave hit. If the cameraman presumably died, then how could they have sent in the footage? If they didn’t die then that would be some miracle since that wave was gigantic.
3 What Figure Did Eric See?
After the first sacrifice, Eric tells Andrew that he thinks he saw a figure in the mirror behind Leonard. Andrew doesn’t think Eric knows what he is talking about since he received a blow to the head. Having a concussion will make anyone see strange things and illusions are another big trope of horror movies.
At the end of Knock at the Cabin, Eric doubles down on his beliefs. He even describes seeing a vision of Andrew and Wen being older and happy together. If these visions were real then who was the figure in the mirror or does it not matter?
2 Andrew Not Caring About The Rest Of Humanity
Andrew’s morals are not well-thought-out in the movie. In a crisis situation, it is normal for parents to think about one thing and one thing only: protecting their family. That makes sense but later speeches Andrew makes don’t. Eric is trying to convince him that their sacrifice is a noble one, but Andrew doesn’t think so. His argument implies that they are the only gay couple in the world, which is obviously not true. It's very single-minded of him and doesn't make sense even in his anger.
1 How Many Died In The Crisis?
Leonard and his fellow Four Horsemen all die in Knock at the Cabin, which unleashes countless disasters on humanity. After a sacrifice is finally chosen, via Eric, things eventually wind down. The news at the diner clears some things up but not everything.
How many people were lost in this mini-apocalypse? Were some of those plagues, like the disease that affected children primarily, cured in an instant, or will this apocalyptic event have some lasting effects? There are a lot of questions left on the table for humanity.