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Horror visionary M. Night Shyamalan makes his way to the big screen once more with his latest film, Knock at the Cabin. The horror mystery tells the story of a young girl and her parents who are taken hostage by a group of strangers who force them to make a difficult choice to avoid an impending apocalypse.
The film boasts an all-star cast that includes Rupert Grint, Dave Bautista, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Jonathan Groff. Despite this, however, Knock at the Cabin didn’t really get glowing reviews. That said, there is a lot of praise for Bautista.
Dave Bautista Definitely Earned His Role
Bautista’s screen time as Sapper Morton may have been brief, but Shyamalan saw enough. “It’s not that verbal of a scene, but it was really how he carried himself,” the director said. “When an actor is really thinking the correct thoughts, their body emanates all the truth. He was doing that and it’s a very, very tricky and difficult thing to do.”
And for Bautista, the film couldn’t have come at a better time as the actor has seemingly been contemplating on life after his time with Marvel Studios as Drax for some time now. In recent years, he reunited with Daniel Craig on Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion and joined the cast of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune.
“I always search out interesting roles, but I take them as they come. I take some pride in what I do because I’m always searching for roles that will challenge me as an actor,” Bautista said.
“I’ve got my year slated and I know what it’s going to look like, but I’m just looking for that next role that’s going to give me the same type of fulfillment as this. This fulfilled a lot of my wishes and dreams and what I’ve been asking for the last 10 years. I’m hoping this will win me a little bit of a respect factor amongst my peers because at the end of the day, it’s kind of what I’m after. I really want to be respected by my peers.”
Knock At The Cabin Reviews Have Been Lukewarm
After well-received films such as The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Split, the reception for Shyamalan’s latest movie hasn’t been as good. After 312 reviews, Knock at the Cabin has only earned a decent 67 percent rating.
For many, it was the story itself that fell a little flat. “For some reason, the movie doesn’t cling and stick as it should,” the New Yorker wrote.
RogerEbert.com remarked, “M. Night Shyamalan should probably just stay away from the apocalypse.” The publication later added, “There’s something about the end of the world that fascinates Shyamalan—as a sentimental moralist, an overzealous twister, and a button-pusher—there’s also something that always foils him.”
Meanwhile, the film also only scored a 64 percent rating from audiences after over 1,000 ratings. Many have claimed that Knock at the Cabin dragged on for too long. There are also a lot of strong reactions regarding the film’s lack of twist.
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“I kept waiting for some kind of payoff but the ending of the movie didn’t really hit for me,” one Redditor wrote.
“I totally was hesitant to believe all the apocalypse stuff on TV was real until they go outside of the cabin and it showed a plane falling in the sky.”
On Rotten Tomatoes, one user wrote, “I was waiting for some twist…This did not seem like an M. Night film!!”
Critics And Fans Agree That Dave Bautista Stands Out
Despite the lackluster ratings, however, many regarded Bautista as Shyamalan’s true star in the film. Here, he plays elementary school teacher Leonard, which the actor approaches with such nuance.
The standout performance comes from Dave Bautista, in his most tatted-up teddy bear mode possible, wearing glasses like he did in Blade Runner 2049 to suggest the gentle boy inside his grizzly physique.
The site Roger Ebert elaborated, “For a movie about how humans choose to interact with one another, his acting is incredibly disarming here and sometimes moving in how he chooses to speak so gently while enacting a plan filled with the unthinkable.”
“While the small cast is good all around, Bautista is quietly spectacular in the film’s most important role. Like the others in his party, Leonard is a seemingly ordinary dude given an extraordinarily difficult task, and his gentle tortured soul belies his intimidating presence,” USA Today noted.
“At the same time, the Guardians of the Galaxy star brings a fearsome unpredictability to this mystery group as the tale unfolds: Are they members of some crazy cult, or are they actually on the level?”
Viewers also have nothing but praise for Bautista with one Redditor saying he is the “best thing about the movie.” Another wrote that Hollywood should “give this man some leading roles!!!”
After Knock at the Cabin, the lead roles for Bautista are almost certain.
