Knock At The Cabin (2023)

Probably not the home invasion movie you're looking for, and there are plenty out there to choose from. Shyamalan is back again, ramping up his output after the underwhelming but still curious 'Old' most recently.

I was gleefully enamoured by Shyamalan's' early work, with the likes of 'The Sixth Sense' and one of my favourite comfort movies 'Signs'. After 'The Village', he became a little too desperate to impress his audience and critics alike, after being described as something of a one-trick pony with his twisty Twilight Zone story telling being employed maybe a little too much for people's liking.

And to be fair to the poor chap, he does create very interesting characters. His output is not usually wanting due to the ability of the performances (one or two occasions that is true, however, cough, Mark Wahlberg, cough), so casting is rarely an issue, but sometimes his scripts are rigid and other times actually laughable.

Based on the book, The Cabin at the End of the World', a simple story of four people turning up at a remote cabin with a fateful and cataclysmic message that will immediately affect both them and the unfortunate occupants. For one reason or another, a prophecy propagates between these four strange yet seemingly normal visitors that the end of the world is coming and with the help of the occupants, a same-sex couple and their adopted daughter, they will stop the events causing the world to end.

The story here is as unusual as much of his other work, usually around the ordinary being exposed to something extraordinary, and how the characters deal with that supposed or actual threat. Again, the performances are not wanting, despite some issues with arcs having their due time to develop. Bautista does a great job as Leonard, head invasioner. Like Blade Runner 2049, he displays a great understanding for a man you would probably cross the street to avoid in reality, desperate and yet still muted, doing a job he would much rather not.

Falling far short of Shyamalan's best work by many degrees, this may benefit from a rewatch and also just about bearable enough to do so. Much of his work has been so frustrating as to make that impossible, but this falls somewhere in the middle. Not his best work then, but seeing both his best and his worst, we should be grateful for it, nonetheless.

NB - And yes he does appear in this, like all of his movies. Blink and you'll miss him (keep an eye on the telly, wink)