Knock at the Cabin explores Christian notions of the apocalypse 

M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, Lady in the Water, Old) co-writes and directs this apocalyptic psychological horror thriller about a family—husbands Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and their adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui)—who are vacationing at a remote cabin when four strangers—Leonard (Dave Bautista), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), Redmond (Rupert Grint), and Adriane (Abby Quinn)—arrive, hold them hostage, and tell them they must sacrifice one family member to avert the apocalypse. (100 min.)

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• Photo Courtesy Of Universal Pictures
• CHOOSE A family—including father, Eric (Jonathan Groff), and daughter, Wen (Kristen Cui)—is held hostage by a group of strangers, who tell them they must sacrifice one member to avert the apocalypse, in M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin, screening in local theaters.

Glen I still think Shyamalan peaked at his third film, The Sixth Sense (1999), which established him as the king of the third-act twist, but that hasn't stopped me from watching every new film to see if he's finally able to top himself. Even though his movies tend to be gimmicky, he's an undeniably good director and spins some fascinating tales, and in Knock at the Cabin, he's showing us a much more subtle version of his formula. The story, based on Paul Tremblay's novel The Cabin at the End of the World (2018), diverges greatly from the novel, but the setup is the same. Eric and Jeff believe the event is driven by homophobia, and that one of the assailants may be a man who attacked Andrew in a bar 13 years earlier. However, the kidnappers are so earnest in their belief that the end is near that Eric—raised in a Christian home—begins to question the truth, especially after devastating events unfold on the news.

Anna The four captors seem to have met on a message board and all share strange, apocalyptic visions about the end of the world and what must be done to prevent it. Eric and Andrew don't believe them—after all, who would? It sounds like group delusion and hysteria. But the first time the young family is asked if they will make a sacrifice and they refuse, it becomes immediately clear that the four strangers have no intention of abandoning their mission. News reports soon show that chaos is happening all around the world outside of that small cabin. Did they somehow create fake news reports, maybe change the time stamp at the bottom of the screen? Eric is concussed; it is blurring his perception of reality? We also learn about the couple earlier in their relationship and the process of adopting Wen as an infant overseas. It truly was a compelling movie. I give Shyamalan props with this one. His movies can be hit or miss for me, but this one had me invested from start to finish.

Glen It's an interesting premise, and being cut off from phone service at a remote cabin and seeing TV reports of worldwide devastation would be disorienting. Would Christian believers even believe it? I mean, would a true believer think God would make such a demand? It's not unprecedented in the Bible. After all, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. In that story, however, before Abraham killed his son, God stepped in with a ram to replace the sacrifice. Faith might be a form of madness.

Anna This plays into the idea of where faith can drive us, and what we choose to believe in pressure-cooker situations. Andrew and Eric love each other, and even more so Wen, but they do have some fundamental differences. How those play out in this heightened situation is pretty interesting to watch. I can't say this movie blew me away, but I was impressed with Bautista—his performance carries a lot of emotional weight. Δ

Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Split Screen. Glen compiles listings. Comment at [email protected].