The film “Knock at the Cabin” is not particularly original, but the plot turned out to be tense, contains vague hints. Director M. Night Shyamalan asks the question: “What is more valuable – the life of a loved one or the fate of all mankind?” The filmmakers are pulling to the end with the denouement and the answer to this question. And what is more important here is not the development of the plot, but the thoughts of the viewer.
What is ‘Knock at the Cabin’ about?
Jonathan Groff played Eric, Ben Eldridge played Andrew, and Kristen Tsui took on the role of seven-year-old Wen. The characters live in a country mansion. One weekday, they are visited by a hefty fellow, school teacher Leonard. He is accompanied by three members of the team (doctor Sabrina, worker Redmond, cook Adrian) with frightening devices in their hands.
Unexpected visitors put the inhabitants of the mansion before the fact that they intend to take one of them for slaughter. This is required to save billions of lives on Earth, otherwise the Apocalypse awaits everyone. The four themselves are the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In fact, these are ordinary people who imagine themselves to be great missionaries.
Why was Eric and Andrew’s family chosen as the victim? Even uninvited guests doubt this. According to Leonard, the family is chosen because of the honesty between Eric and Andrew. This assumption of Leonard can be considered accurate, because the inhabitants of the hut were forced to overcome obstacles, wading through a world plunged into darkness. However, their huts almost never come out, the whole cinematic intrigue is created by conversations. But the directing skill of Shyamalan is remarkable for the fact that the atmosphere even in the frames, where there is a minimum of dynamics, is heating up. He does this in several ways.
Firstly, famous actors are shown in unusual roles, and this charges the audience with wild energy. The smartest of the quartet is played by Dave Bautista. A man with prominent muscles and tattoos as a modest intellectual brings cognitive dissonance to the narrative. And the most evil character was played by Rupert Grint (from Harry Potter).
Secondly, due to the many films made earlier, Shyamalan gained experience. He repeats already proven, proven, successful techniques. So, he shot almost the entire film with the help of bizarre camera lenses that bend space and convey the experiences of the characters.
The script itself does not leave the audience indifferent. With each next refusal of one of the household members in the hut, unexpected guests turn on the TV, which shows floods, epidemics, cataclysms. The stakes for all heroes are rapidly increasing.
The house was shown to the quartet through the collective conscious. Initially, it was not known that it was Eric and Andrew who lived in it. Anyone could be in the mansion. The inhabitants of the mansion had to save Wen, so the potential of their experiences to save the world turned out to be quite enough. The girl became a beacon of salvation amid the devastation, hatred and violence committed by people.
The quartet acts destructively, personifying a specific human quality. Four broadcast in the style of “Cities will go under water, the volume of the oceans will increase, which will swallow almost the entire earth, then a plague will follow, the sky will collapse to the ground …”. Etc. The story is reminiscent of a “strangers in the house” thriller. It transforms into an apocalyptic mythology, reinforced to a certain extent by TV news about terrifying cataclysms. A ritual is used with devices directed by guests against themselves.
The meaning of the movie “Knock at the Cabin”
In “Knock at the Cabin,” the love of the characters is emphasized throughout the development of the plot. Through them, it is shown how, in the face of cruelty and violence, the world needs to remember kindness and sincerity.
The film also shows how effective coercion and manipulation can sometimes be. All plot twists are a game of power. Leonard leads the quartet under pressure to force Eric and Andrew to make decisions. Strangers in the House has a lot of influence. Eric and Andrew find themselves in a dangerous situation. Moreover, everything is aggravated by any of their wrong decisions. The film has a Christian context. There are some doubts of the director, there is a distortion of reality. Psychological manipulations and emotions influence the decision making of heroes.
The narrative quickly becomes pathos, which is enhanced by the family format. And only yesterday they “allowed me to get married”, but already it turned out to be a huge responsibility. And against the background of such “progress” there are thoughts about saving the world.
It becomes annoying for the authors from such super-tasks. This not only demonstrates the need for the sake of the common good to give up oneself. The real “becoming of saints” is shown, in whose bright faces there is a concentration of all the virtues emanating from love and humanism.
Director Shyamalan directly says that only holiness leads to humanism. And this can be, of course, but the film in such a proclamation turns out to be too immodest. M. Night Shyamalan, according to his creative concept, created a new unbearably light film product, which is at the same time a “smart” horror.
Explanation of the ending of the movie “Knock at the Cabin”
The final hints that only the power of love will save the world from a catastrophe. However, the ending of “Knock in the Cabin” failed. For the audience, it is too clear and predictable, albeit melodramatic. There is no doubt about the apocalyptic ending, the action drags on for an unbearably long time (even TV reports about disasters do not save, and the memories of the characters bore even more). Only the rigid rituals mentioned are invigorating, but only the first of them is curious. After an hour of movie footage, Andrew tentatively hints at exposing the aliens, but this gimmick doesn’t add much beyond a few shots in the shower.
