2/7/23 - Knock at the Cabin (2023) - 4/10

I am glad that so many are digging this latest Shyamalan joint, but I feel like we watched different films.The film lacks intensity, at least for me, when that should be its one main attribute. You never FEEL the horror or thrill, rather just waiting for the next drama block in the countdown to apocalypse Lego set. Rarely are any of those blocks worthy of building off of though.

It’s a small chamber piece waiting game that lacks engagement except for the impending pregnancy of the “next moment”. It is reminiscent of the worst of the mystery boxes trope. Perhaps it might have satisfied if any of those anticipated junctures birthed anything like intrigue or genuine empathetic connection, rather than preachy Old Testament pensiveness.

Without getting into spoilers, this is a film about belief, fate and love on high. Really, it is like most of his films in dealing with the consideration of “what if what these people around me believe is REAL?”, but this is a film that, beyond the short story premise of intrigue and stakes, falls genuinely flat, lacking any killer bite or fascinating filmmaking.