Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) have taken their daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) on holiday to an idyllic cabin in the woods where their peace is disturbed by a group of four people who give them a terrible choice to make in order to avert the apocalypse. 

The group led by Leonard (Dave Bautista) explain to the family that they must make a conscious choice to kill one of their other family members in order to avert the apocalypse. The group consisting of Leonard, Redmond (Rupert Grint), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and Adriane (Abby Quinn) explain that they will not hurt the family themselves and nor will a suicide suffice. That a conscious decision must be made. 

Knock At The Cabin is a film by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) adapted from a novel by Paul G. Tremblay named The Cabin At The End Of The World which was published in 2018. Shyamalan has kept the set up and characters the same but chosen to make significant alterations to the plot such that anyone who has read the novel will still be guessing at what will happen. And as it is a Shyamalan film I will be saying no more about the plot. 

What I will say is that this is Shyamalan at close to his best. It will not trouble the likes of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable or Signs for the crown of his best film. But it certainly sits in the second tier of Shyamalan alongside Split and The Village. 

It features some strong performances with his typically earnest dialogue. Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Dave Bautista do a fantastic job of delivering those lines and making their characters come to life. Bautista has now been proving for some time that he is a brilliant actor and no longer a “wrestler turned actor”. Here he truly shows he can lead a film. Whilst the camera is framed in a manner that creates a disconcerting and tense disposition. The plot focuses around religious fundamentalism, groupthink and parental love. Although the key element is that we see both groups of people’s perspectives on the subject and have to decide who is right. 

My only real qualm would be relating to the ending and my expectations around it. Perhaps this is a peril that Shyamalan films have always faced ever since The Sixth Sense. Otherwise I found Knock At The Cabin to be a thoroughly engrossing watch. 

Oh and Shyamalan does two other things right. He gives Broadway musical star Groff the chance to sing and he gives himself a cameo that fits his acting skills!