"Wen" (Kristen Cui) is out collecting grasshoppers when she encounters the statuesque and friendly "Leonard" (Dave Bautista). When his three friends turn up though, she gets spooked and runs to her remote cabin home where her dads "Eric" (Jonathan Groff) and "Andrew" (Ben Aldridge) are chilling on the veranda. She is worried, and soon they are locked in with four seemingly hostile folks outside demanding entry. The doors and windows are no match for their rather medieval weapons and soon the boys are tied to their chairs fearing the worst in homophobic behaviour. Thing is, the four appear to mean them no harm - well, not directly anyway. "Leonard", in a calm and measured manner, now regales them with a tale foretelling an apocalyptic end for mankind unless this small family make a very, very, tough decision in the next twenty four hours. Should they not, then we soon discover that things will not go well for them, but do not go at all well for their four "persuaders" either. Bautista is quite good here, as is Aldridge and for a while the plot is actually quite intriguing. The ultimate catch-22 with a question posed to rational people - who love each other - that would test any of us. Sadly, though, M Night Shyamalan can't keep the intrigue sustained and it rather runs out of steam from the middle onwards. Groff doesn't really show up and neither, for that matter, does Rupert Grint. I also felt that young Cui takes a little too much screen time and grates after a while. It's the shortest of short stories, and might have worked better had it just been the hour with a tighter narrative and less meandering. Still - it does ask a question that I'm not sure I could answer either in their position - and I did quite enjoy watching it.

The tender, sympathetic, and desperate performances are what make _Knock at the Cabin_ worthwhile. The psychological and horror aspects of the film are timid at best with the true identities of Leonard and his associates being obvious, gruesome elements that you never see, and an apocalypse that is a lackluster disaster overall.

It’s not that _Knock at the Cabin_ is entirely bad, it’s that it seems to actively know it could be more creative, thrilling, and shocking and yet purposely chooses to bury its head in the sand and let mediocrity have its remorselessly bland way with it.

**Full review:**
https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/02/03/knock-at-the-cabin-review-a-well-acted-blah-pocalypse/

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/knock-at-the-cabin-review

"Knock at the Cabin marks the triumphant comeback of M. Night Shyamalan, who possibly delivers his best film since Signs! With the help of a superb cast led by the phenomenal Dave Bautista - career-best performance - the filmmaker explores the emotional complexity found in the profound moral dilemmas placed upon human beings when faced with life-and-death decisions. Total focus on a single location with persistent cinematography (Jarin Blaschke) and immersive sound production, generating an atmosphere charged with excruciating tension. Extraordinarily gripping from start to finish. The next cult classic is born."

Rating: A-

Ok, first of all, i'm not that much of commentator on this platform, so i try my best to "review" this movie here.
Or at least i try to put down my thoughts.

First thing i want to mention, that this movie finally did it. I'm never ever gonna watch a movie from MNS again, nor do i watch a movie again, where i know a (former) wrestling star takes part in.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters in this movie. Least with Batista. Basically i cared for no one in this movie.
[spoiler] it didn't matter for me who died why or whatever happened in this movie [/spoiler]

The whole plot was so predictable and nowhere suprising. And what i disliked the most, it didn't make sense at all, at any point in the movie.

And the ending, [spoiler] oh boy, was it stupid and not trustworthy at all. The whole character development (if i even can call it like that) between the parents was based on the fact that never ever would anyone of them would kill the other one, but still the movie suggests that andrew killed eric at the end, due to the fact that the "apocalypse" has been stopped. But in my opinion this is complete bullshit, because, based on what the characters did and said, eric must have killed himself. But like this, it's just stupid, that we shall believe Andrew did that. [/spoiler]

But the most stupiest thing, where i really had to hold myself back to not laugh out loud in the middle of the movie theatre was [spoiler] The "Four Horsemen" reference, or whatever they tried to say with that. "Healing", "Caring", "Malice", and "Guidance" ?! Like, really? are you freaking kidding me? Thats literally the complete opposite for what the four horsemen stand. [/spoiler]

All in all it was a big disaster of a movie in every aspect. Actors that didn't act well, Camera Operator who couldn't even get a clear image in most of the shots. And on top a really bad and predictable story that builds no tension at all. It took like maybe 10 minutes into the movie, from where on i knew how the movie was going and it how its gonna end.

Knock At The Cabin Is A Tense And Engaging Thriller
Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan is back with his new thriller “Knock at
the Cabin” and like his earlier works; the film blends reality with
supernatural elements to put ordinary people in circumstances that are
dangerous and unnatural.
The film involves a same-sex couple named Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew
(Ben Aldridge), who have taken their adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui),
to a secluded cabin for a relaxing vacation.

The arrival of four strangers lead by the imposing but soft-spoken Leonard
(Dave Bautista) becomes dangerous when Leonard informs them that the world
is about to end and only by choosing to sacrifice one of them can the
Apocalypse be diverted.

Leonard explains that the four had the same vision of the end of the world
and that they were drawn to save it by taking such drastic actions. They
inform their captives that they will not harm them but they will not be
allowed to leave as they must make the choice and failure to do so will
doom everyone and force the three of them to exist as the sole-survivors
of the aftermath.

Convinced that the intruders are insane; Eric and Andrew refuse the offer
and watch as one of the four captives sacrifices themselves which is soon
followed by news on the television of a massive earthquakes which resulted
in tsunamis.

Convinced it is a ruse or simply timed events to the days news; the
captives again refuse a request only to see another sacrifice followed by
more news of devastation happening around the world.

What follows is a tight thriller as Eric and Andrew learn more about their
captives and the changing world situation which forces them to confront a
world gone mad.

The film is good at setting a tone and maintaining a mild tension
throughout as the audience is left to wonder how real what is being
presented by Leonard and his associates are. I liked the fact that the
movie did not try to wrap things up nice and tidy and left the audiences
with some questions about the events as well as what would happen in the
aftermath.

Bautista gives an career-best performance and shows that his is capable of
doing more than the action-comedy genre which he has been playing to date
and I hope he continues to seek roles such as this.

While the film may not reach the levels of some of his earlier classics,
Shyamalan has crafted an entertaining film that keeps you guessing.

3.5 stars out of 5