Great movie, one I would highly recommend seeing in theaters. It's so tightly written, features some fantastic performances (especially from Dave Bautista, who gives a career-best), and does such an incredible job of keeping you guessing throughout, as to whether the whole thing is a delusion, targeted home invasion, or the actual apocalypse. Overall, it's just a really solid thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from the opening scene.

For reference, I used to be a big M. Night fan, but haven't seen one of his movies since, I think, After Earth in 2013. I had no idea it had been at least ten years, but for whatever reason this looked solid to me, and reactions from trusted critics have been pretty good (it's way better than its 68% RT score), so I decided to give it a shot and I'm really glad I did. Also, for what it's worth, our theater was sold out, the audience seemed really into it, and afterwards I heard a number of people saying how much they enjoyed it.

I will give one super-spoilery caveat, though...

I was definitely rooting throughout for the more grounded, real-world option, aka it being a revenge plot masterminded by Ron Weasley. While I still think that would have been the more interesting/accessible movie, it's obviously Shyamalan, so of course it's going to dabble in the supernatural, and it's also based on a popular book, so there wasn't a ton of wiggle room there. That said, I just read a summary of the book's ending, which, while still the actual apocalypse, is quite different from the movie, in a pretty significant way.

Regardless, by film's end, I truly enjoyed what we got, and I'm so curious to hear others' reactions as well...

Knock at the Cabin
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15679400/
February 3, 2022
Theatrical Exclusive

The trailers interested me but his movies have always been either love or hate with me, so I was waiting to see what reviews and the reception on here would be. Good to hear you liked it. I did NOT click on your spoiler though....hope I don't regret that!

Great to hear! His movies are either incredibly awesome or incredibly crap and this one did have me intrigued so hopefully we'll be able to see it.

Fair enough. It hardly felt "woke" to me at all, seeing as their relationship was crucial to the plot, in more of a technical way rather than being "forced" as to check a diversity box. In other words, it wouldn't have worked if the couple *wasn't* gay. In fact, at one point I literally thought, "This is a gay relationship TexAgs can handle," for the reason above, and seeing as there's nothing sexual/no physical show of love, given how the whole Last of Us thing went all week. It even jokes about it a couple times, in how the invaders react to their sexual orientation, and felt self aware in that regard. That, and the movie is way more concerned with the home invaders/overall conceit, but I get where you're coming from, and to each their own. All I know is that I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish, constantly guessing throughout, and it really worked for me in that regard. But I can totally understand how you felt that the gay aspects might have been too tropey/lazy at times.

Dude, you need to spoiler tag a good chunk of that. Come on.

I would spoiler tag most of it, in fact. I just flagged your post in case you don't see this for while, and staff is able to act faster than you. Good gosh, man, you're giving away/alluding to SO MUCH. What the hell?

Fixed it

Thank you.

I enjoyed it. There was a nice unhingedness to the invaders and Bautista was this gentle giant that hated what he was doing.

The Cannon Beach scene was pretty horrifying having walked that beach.

I do think he undercut the original story with the changes he made, especially since it was pretty beat for beat until the final 20 minutes or so.

I mostly enjoyed it, but would've enjoyed it way more if the trailers didn't give everything away.

Kept waiting for a twist or unexpected plot development that never really came.

Curious what you thought the trailers gave away.

Really?

For one, the entire premise of the movie could've been kept mysterious. (As in what the strangers wanted from them.)

But besides that, the trailers make it 100% clear that they're telling the truth. I never once doubted that it wasn't real. I was hoping there would end up being a swerve at the end, but nope. Seeing the plane falling out of the sky above the cabin should not have been shown in the trailer.

I forgot about that one shot of the plane falling out of the sky, and agree that should have absolutely been kept out of the trailers. But I don't think they could have marketed the movie without giving away the basic premies, i.e. what the home invaders believed they were there to do. Take that aspect out of the trailers, and four people simply showing up to hold a family hostage isn't enough to separate the movie from the pack and get butts in seats. Regardless, yes, I suspected all along that the actual apocalypse was going to be the end result, but I actually thought that worked to the advantage of the movie-going experience itself. I went in expecting the apocalypse, but then immediately started questioning whether the home invaders were simply delusional, or if they were on an elaborate on a revenge mission head up by Wesley, etc. That it ended up being the actual apocalypse/what a I originally suspected didn't turn me off the ending, though, because the ride I was on throughout the movie was so back-and-forth and constantly kept me guessing.

Honestly I think the need for a sacrifice (keeping the motive a mystery), and Shyamalan's name, would've been enough. I know I would have seen it.

But yeah it's mostly the second thing.

Gotta give props to Bautista. Guy can act. He's by far the best wrestler turned actor. (Admittedly not a high bar.)

Funny. Reviews on IMDb range from "action packed"to "boring." Strangely, I agree with both sentiments.

BallerStaf2003 said:

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I was amused, but went to see it last night with my bf and 3 other gay friends. We all thought it was a very lazy and exploitive woke take on gay relationships.

He checked all the trauma boxes in a very stereotypical way to build a resentment at mankind. Poorly done and will piss off social conservatives.

Basically, at the end of the movie we thoughts it was too gay. Too dependent on gay trauma tropes and too centered on their identity as gay, as opposed to developing the characters themselves.

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I consider myself socially conservative, and it didn't bother me at all.

I also don't think the trailer gave it away, b/c I was even questioning it when I saw the planes falling from the sky. I was waiting for a Shyamalan twist where the tv was edited in some way.

I would have been like the masculine father and would have kept questioning everything.

My wife and I were both entertained and enjoyed the movie. It wasn't his best film, but as some of the reviews have stated, "the twist was that there was no twist."

In the end it was a fun thriller, and I'd recommend to my friends.

Looks like Cam lost a bunch of weight.

Trailer showed them looking up and seeing the plane above the cabin. So they gave away that it was happening in the real world and not just fake news footage.

The best movies M. Night has been involved in remain The Village and Devil.

Devil is pretty ****ing dope

The Porkchop Express said:

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Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Gotta give props to Bautista. Guy can act. He's by far the best wrestler turned actor. (Admittedly not a high bar.)

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Clearly you never saw Hulk Hogan as Thunderlips in Rocky III.

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Suburban Commando or GTFO

Walked out during the first 5 minutes

I'm sure this is a troll, but I'll bite. Why?

I Googled what happened in the first five minutes, and the NYPost had this to say:

https://nypost.com/2023/02/02/knock-at-the-cabin-review-shyamalans-latest-sledgehammer/

Edit: Can't get the spoilers to work. Fail. Click on the article at your peril if you don't want the first five minutes spoiled.

I can only assume he got an emergency text or ate some Indian food just prior. Otherwise there's nothing in the first five minutes that would make anyone balk. If you willingly paid for a ticket to this movie, the opening sequence is exactly what you signed up for.

JP_Losman said:

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Nope actually was just killing time before seeing Avatar, so walked into this theater.

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