Knock At The Cabin (M. Night Shyamalan, February 3, 2023) Movie • Page 7

Not sure if I liked this more than Old, but this was another great time at the movies from M Night

 

I usually avoid trailers but like to go back and watch them after seeing the movie. Just watched the final trailer and it shows so much! Also features elements from the book that didn't make the movie. I walked out curious why they didn't include some things but now know they shot stuff for it.

 

Aaron did you see this yet

 

Loved this, his best since Split for sure and maybe in his top 3 or 4?

 

No, I was afraid to open this post because I don't want it spoiled lol but a friend who also hated Old liked this a lot so I'm interested

 

Well I liked Old and really liked this!!! Can’t wait to hear what you thought.

 

Thanks friend! Will report back.

 

Didn’t love everything about this, but it felt sort of like a good version of the type of B-movie he claimed to be making fifteen years ago.

 

Good acting. Story was fine. Just the right running time.

 

very dope movie

 

good acting. some corny ass dialogue though. fun movie. super predictable.

 

ditto these thoughts

 

Legit just read this book on my flight. Book was fine but kinda dragged? I bet it works better as a movie and am excited to eventually check it out!

 

I had fun

 

so I finally watched Old having loved this. not a great movie by any means but I thought it was... fine. some really breathtaking camerawork and cinematography, which is like the minimum expectation from a Shyamalan movie for me. I didn't think the performances were all that bad either, but dialogue and that ending were horrible for sure. that one death scene is the most messed up shit I've seen since the Suspiria remake

absolutely no way it's in the same conversation as Lady in the Water/The Happening for bad M Night movies lol

 

Lady in the Water and The Happening are both really good. The lawnmower is still one of the funniest death scenes.

 

LITW is literally the single worst film I've ever seen in my life and I'm a big Shyamalan defender. shit is 2 hours of garbage water

 

Never saw it but read the plot and yeah it sounds bad

 

That and Remember Me are the two worst I've seen in theaters for sure. The Last Airbender might actually be worse than LITW though.

 

never seen TLA and never will lol, but having recently watched the show I don't think all the blame is on Shyamalan for that one. any attempt to cram a whole season of that complex, beautifully made show into 2 hours of live action was gonna go down in flames, doesn't matter who directed it

LITW is straight up nothing but an ego trip and he definitely takes the blame for that one

 

The changes from the book make the movie really sing, I think. The book was good but it kind of petered out by the end. I do not think the movie does that and it's all the better for it.

Best part of the movie for me was easily Groff's monologue before his death. It was beautiful.

 

groff was on another level throughout, straight up celestial acting, contrasted beautifully with bautista’s kinda-inevitably sinister conviction. you felt groff gradually accepting the reality he was being told even as he denied it, and he pretty much did all of that with his eyes

 

The ego trip is the best part. He made a film critic the most unsympathetic character and then had him graphically torn apart.

 

I am unsure how I feel about this one. I have a lot of thoughts.

My immediate reaction after leaving the theater was that it was great. The themes of sacrifice and turning the other cheek were pretty well executed. Shyamalan's visual style (which lifted Old above its rough dialogue) really stands out here. Particularly the choice to frequently place the subject at the edge of the frame. It creates a clear separation between Eric and Andrew throughout a lot of the film and creates tension and uncertainty with the empty space occupying the rest of the frame. There's also a really striking shot near the end after Bautista sacrifices himself that puts Eric and Andrew together with the camera facing up, showing the power now placed upon them to choose, but then the dark apocalyptic cloud hovers over them to show how the consequences of their next move and undercutting the power they seem to be given. Really great stuff. Shyamalan gets a lot of hate, but he's a gifted filmmaker.

As I've thought about it though, there's a weird right-wing undertone to the movie. It's hard for me to fully accept that a gay man has to turn the other cheek to a world that has insulted him, attacked him, or asked him to hide away and sacrifice his love to save everyone... and at the coercion of a bunch of zealots who met online, one who is shown to be a violent homophobe.

The film tries to try to guide the audience away from this reading by insisting several times they aren't targeted because of their sexuality and that their captors aren't religious, but it's still there and very hard to ignore.

 

idk if i'd call that right-wing. having to embrace (and sacrifice oneself for) people who may not be our allies is jesus shit iirc