Welcome back to the blog readers. Apologies for the lengthy absence. I just saw the new horror film Knock at the Cabin and I wanted to share my spoiler-free thoughts; directed by M. Night Shyamalan and adapted from the book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, the film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Rupert Grint, and sees a family vacationing at a cabin only to be ambushed by four strangers who demand they sacrifice one of them to prevent the apocalypse.
I wanted to start this review by stating that like M3GAN, I don't believe that this is a horror film. I can see elements of it but I don't really see it being a horror. I would classify it more as an apocalyptic psychological thriller that has some aspects of comedy as well. Not too many but there are some moments of lightheartedness.
I thought that I wouldn't like this film all too much, but I found myself more engaged than I though I would be. Anchored by fantastic performances all around (surprisingly a first for Mr. Shamhamer!) and some legitimate moments of terror and dread, I found this film to be a wonderful experience.
First I want to commend many of the performances, especially those of Bautista, Groff and Aldridge. Dave Bautista had said he wanted to branch out and do more serious roles. If he keeps landing roles like this, he'll have an Oscar on his mantle in no time. He finds the perfect blend of comforting warmth and menacing malice and delivers a knockout performance. Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge kill it as the couple who are taken hostage and their rage and terror make you buy into these characters in the situation they find themselves in.
The only two performances I didn't really gravitate towards were those of Rupert Grint and Kristen Cui. I feel like we didn't get enough time with Grint's character for us to really get to flesh out his character. And I didn't gravitate towards child actor Kristen Cui like I did the kids in The Black Phone. To be honest, I was kind of detached from her character. (Please don't Razzie me guys, I'm merely judging a performance. It's not that deep.)
If there is one thing that Good Ol' Shamhammer does well, it's building tension. From the get-go, we are treated to tense moment after tense moment and you got me if you can build tension and suspension in a film like this. Apparently the ending of the book was changed, and I found out how the book ends. Now I'm clad the ending was changed because it would have been way too depressing. I also want to commend the length of the film. Not many films work at a runtime of 1:40, but this film is the perfect length. Not too long, not too short, just perfect. The pacing ties into that, and this film is paced perfectly.
To conclude my thoughts, Knock at the Cabin is a slick thriller film that knows how to build tension and suspense, all while anchored by a trio of knockout performances. Thank you so much for reading on, and see you for the next one.
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