M. Night Shyamalan is back with a new movie, and it might be his darkest
one yet. Do you dare to let it inside? Here's everything we know about "Knock at the Cabin."
M. Night Shyamalan's new horror film, "Knock at the Cabin," will break into movie theaters
on February 3, 2023. The director confirmed the release date with a nine-second clip in
October 2022, followed by a poster in November 2022 — one depicting four menacing individuals,
armed to the teeth, looming outside a tiny cabin. Shyamalan tweeted along with the poster,
But who are these spooky strangers, and what exactly do they want?
"My name's Leonard. It's nice to meet you, Wen."
While M. Night Shyamalan usually generates original material,
he has occasionally adapted other people's works — a la the infamous "Last Airbender"
and his most recent thriller, "Old." Similarly, "Knock at the Cabin" is
based on a novel by Paul G. Tremblay, "The Cabin at the End of the World."
According to CNBC, the fact that "Cabin" is based on Tremblay's book was kept secret for
an extended period of time, presumably to prevent giving away the film's premise before Shyamalan
and his producers were ready. Shyamalan and the film's marketing have still shied away
from revealing certain elements of the story, yet have shared an official logline for the
plot and a trailer that gives us a taste of the mayhem to come. The logline reads,
And this is exactly what we see in the trailer released by distributor Universal Pictures on
September 22. However, there is one huge question that looms over everything — are
these four people just crazy, sadistic torturers? Or do they truly possess advanced knowledge of a
coming apocalypse? And if so, are they right to force this family to make the ultimate sacrifice?
"If you fail to choose, the world will end."
Without a doubt, the most famous actor involved with "Knock at the Cabin" is
Dave Bautista of "Guardians of the Galaxy" fame. The wrestler turned actor will star as Leonard,
the hulking yet quiet leader of the group that's forcing a family to make
a horrible choice. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about their upcoming collaboration,
M. Night Shyamalan recounted how Bautista's encounter with Ryan Gosling's character in
"Blade Runner 2049" is what drew him to the actor. Shyamalan explained,
The remaining three members of Bautista's group will be rounded out by Rupert Grint,
Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Abby Quinn. Grint, of course, is most famous for playing Ron Weasley
in the "Harry Potter" franchise. He's also the star of Shyamalan's Apple TV+ series "Servant."
Amuka-Bird also has previous Shyamalan experience, starring in the director's aging horror flick
"Old," as well as projects like "Jupiter Ascending," "The Outfit," and "Avenue 5." As
for Quinn, she's appeared in TV shows like "Better Call Saul" and movies like 2019's "Little Women."
So who will be playing the poor family beset by armed cultists? Well,
Jonathan Groff of "Mindhunter," "Hamilton," and "The Matrix Resurrections" will be starring as
Andrew. He'll be taking a trip to the titular cabin with Ben Aldridge of "Pennyworth" and
"Fleabag," who will be playing Andrew's husband, Eric. Their young daughter, Wen,
will be played by Kristen Cui. This will be Cui's first acting project,
and as Shyamalan is particularly skilled with getting great performances out of young actors,
we're sure the young performer will absolutely steal the show.
M. Night Shyamalan has had quite the interesting run over the past few years.
"What was your mistake!? Trusting me? Depending on me, thinking that I could do this?"
Coming off a stream of serious bombs, the filmmaker resuscitated his career with
sleeper hits like "Split" and "The Visit," while also offering more controversial
titles like "Glass" and "Old." Now, he's bringing his unique sensibilities to "Knock
at the Cabin," and he seems incredibly excited about venturing down this new,
twisted path. Speaking with Total Film, Shyamalan said about the movie,
So expect this home invasion thriller to go in some strange directions,
as Shyamalan always has a few dastardly tricks up his proverbial sleeve. Generally,
M. Night Shyamalan writes all his scripts by himself, putting his unique stamp on the
screenplays for movies like "Split," "The Visit," and "The Sixth Sense." And yes, he did indeed
work on "Knock at the Cabin," adding his own signature style and tightening things, getting
the script down to less than 100 pages. However, while Shyamalan rewrote the script, he wasn't
the one who originally penned the screenplay. The first version of "Knock at the Cabin" was written
by the duo of Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman. Their script landed on the 2019 Black List, a
collection of the most talked-about unmade movies in Hollywood, before making its way to Shyamalan.
While M. Night Shyamalan is a master at creating horror, the filmmaker generally makes movies that
can be appreciated by a wide range of ages. Movies like "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable,"
"Signs," and "Split" are all rated PG-13. Up until now, Shyamalan has only had one film that's rated
R — "The Happening." It's a film about plants causing people to commit suicide — and the fact
it earned the big bad R played a pretty sizable factor in the film's marketing.
However, "The Happening" needs to move over and make way, as it's no longer Shyamalan's
only R-rated movie. "Knock at the Cabin" now also boasts an R rating, for "violence and
language," according to MovieWeb. If you've read Paul G. Tremblay's source material,
this should come as no surprise. "The Cabin at the End of the World" is an incredibly dark tale,
and while it's not as gory as a slasher, the violence and torture
is disturbing and hits incredibly hard due to the emotions and stakes at play.