Knock at the Cabin Film
Knock at the Cabin is a 2023 American apocalyptic psychological horror film written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, who wrote the screenplay from an initial draft by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman. It is based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, the first adaptation of one of his works. The film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint. In the film, a family vacationing at a remote cabin is suddenly held hostage by four strangers, who ask something unimaginable.
Knock at the Cabin premiered in New York City at the Rose Hall on January 30, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on February 3, 2023, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $54 million worldwide.
Knock at the Cabin Film
STORY
Seven-year-old Wen is vacationing with her fathers, Eric and Andrew, at a remote cabin in rural Pennsylvania. She is approached by a stranger named Leonard, who explains that he needs Wen and her parents’ help to save the world. Three other individuals break in with makeshift weapons and tie them up. Struggling to fight them off, Eric sustains a concussion.
Leonard and his companions—Sabrina, Adriane, and Redmond—claim that they have no intention of harming the family. However, in the past week, they have been driven by visions to find the family. They foresee an impending apocalypse in which oceans will rise, a pandemic will spread, and the sky will fall. The only way to prevent this is for the family to sacrifice one of their own. If they do not make a choice, they will be the last people standing.
When the family refuses, the intruders sacrifice Redmond by fatally striking him with their weapons. Eric sees a figure of light as Redmond dies. On television, news reports show devastating megatsunamis. Andrew believes Redmond is Rory O’Bannon, a man who had been arrested after assaulting Andrew in a bar years prior. He thinks Rory tracked him down for revenge. Leonard, Sabrina, and Adriane grapple with guilt, but reveal that Redmond’s death has unleashed the first judgment of humanity. The next day, the intruders sacrifice Adriane. Meanwhile, a deadly variation of the flu virus spreads across the world.
Andrew escapes and shoots at Sabrina with his gun until she flees. As Leonard is being held at gunpoint, Sabrina breaks in and is fatally shot by Andrew. Leonard decapitates Sabrina, and afterwards Andrew finds Redmond’s wallet and proves to Leonard that he was Rory. Andrew confronts Leonard in the bathroom, but Leonard overtakes him and grabs Andrew’s gun. A TV broadcast reveals that hundreds of spontaneous plane crashes have occurred around the world.
Realizing their time is nearly over, Leonard informs the family that after his death, they will only have a few minutes to make a decision. He then slits his throat. Upon his death, lightning causes fires and more planes to crash. Eric now believes the events are real, and that the intruders represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Not wanting Wen to grow up in a destroyed world, he offers himself as the sacrifice and envisions an older Andrew and an adult Wen thriving in the future. He feels that their family was chosen to make the sacrifice because their love is so pure. Andrew reluctantly shoots and kills Eric.
Andrew and Wen find the visitors’ truck with belongings that corroborate their stories. They drive to a crowded diner, where they watch news reports confirming that the disasters have subsided. The radio plays “Boogie Shoes” by KC and the Sunshine Band, coincidentally the song that Eric had played for them before. The duo drives off. As the closing credits fade out, seven distinct loud knocks are heard at the very end of the film.
CAST
- Dave Bautista as Leonard Brocht
- Jonathan Groff as Eric
- Ben Aldridge as Andrew
- Nikki Amuka-Bird as Sabrina
- Rupert Grint as Redmond
- Abby Quinn as Adriane
- Kristen Cui as Wen
- M. Night Shyamalan as an infomercial host
PRODUCTION
Development
Knock at the Cabin is an adaptation of the 2018 horror novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, who had signed an option with FilmNation Entertainment in late 2017, prior to the book’s publication, and had to keep secret that the film was based on one of his novels until July 2022. The Black List and GLAAD List listed the initial draft by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman as one of the most popular unproduced screenplays of 2019. While another director was briefly attached, M. Night Shyamalan read the original screenplay and grew interested in producing. Shyamalan later rewrote the script and came on board to direct the project as part of the two-film partnership between Universal Pictures and his production banner Blinding Edge Pictures. Old (2021) was the first film in that deal, with Knock at the Cabin being the second. The first draft was halfway completed by July 2021, and the title was revealed in October. Shyamalan said the script was the fastest he had ever written in his career.
RELEASE
February 3, 2023
