M. Night Shyamalan continues his Shyamalanaissance with his fully embraced niche of mid-budget horror-thrillers, the latest of which includes the second adaptation for Shyamalan (after Old, which was based on a graphic novel) and the official first adaptation of new horror darling Paul G. Tremblay's work, a version of Tremblay's Cabin at the End of the World, here retitled to Knock At The Cabin.
Shyamalan announced that the trailer had dropped and the film, starring Dave Bautista, David Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Rupert Grint, is sure to terrify fans who have been waiting for a taste of what the next picture from the master director is going to be about. Shyamalan is a perfect fit for this type of material and it looks like a real case of two sensibilities combining well.
The Knock at the Cabin story, for which Shyamalan played his cards close to the vest until some sleuthing uncovered that his movie was, in fact, an adaptation of Tremblay's work, has left fans with some small idea of what to expect. In the book, a gay couple (here Groff and Aldridge) take a vacay to New Hampshire with their adopted daughter, Wen (Kristen Cui), and run into a “family” (read: cult) of religious outsiders led by Leonard (Bautista), who takes them hostage and tells them one of them must kill another to stop the coming apocalypse. The trailer opens with the obviously happy couple and Wen singing K.C. and the Sunshine Band's 1975 hit “Boogie Shoes” as they drive through idyllic summer countryside.
They hit the cabin, unpack, and start to frolic: jumping in the lake, resting on the porch, and little Wen makes a diary of her nature findings—until she looks up and sees the massive figure of Bautista's Leonard wearing the black pants and white short-sleeved shirt of a missionary (or a Geek Squad member from hell) as he comes striding through the woods to their house. The disco cuts out and an ominous vibe cuts in. Cue the knocking. We see Leonard's massive hand shaking Wen's hand and telling her his heart is broken.
When she asks why, he tells her it’s because of what he has to do: she then sees the rest of his family, homemade medieval weapons in hand, emerge from the woods. Wen's family huddles inside the cabin as the knocking gets more insistent. The men finally notice the weapons and try to barricade themselves as Leonard's “family” bursts into the house. Leonard's narration continues about why what they have to do is the most important thing in the world.
With the family bound, all the rest of Leonard's crew line up as he intones that the four of them are there to “prevent the apocalypse,” which is exactly the type of thing anybody who’s been kidnapped by a loony wants to hear. “Your family has been chosen make a horrible decision,” he continues, “if you fail to choose, the world will end.”
Knock at the Cabin lands in theaters on February 3rd, 2023.
Source: Universal/YouTube