The reviews for M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin indicate that it finally fixes one of the filmmaker's most unique problems. Shyamalan gained critical acclaim and international recognition with his 1999 smash-hit movie The Sixth Sense. His hot streak continued with 2000 superhero thriller Unbreakable and the 2002 alien invasion film Signs. However, Shyamalan's career would soon falter with the generally negative reception to his 2004 period horror thriller The Village. Although praised for its gorgeous cinematography by Roger Deakins, critics expressed disappointment with The Village at the time, though the film has been somewhat re-evaluated in the years since.Following The Village, Shyamalan movies would veer between disappointment and downright disaster. His catastrophic movie adaptation of The Last Airbender is not only seen as a terrible adaptation of the animated show, but is generally considered one of the worst films of all time. After a string of high-profile disasters, Shyamalan settled down into a series of relatively low-budget projects such as The Visit, Split, and Glass. Although these films received a more positive reaction, reviews were still mixed, especially for Glass. The positive reviews for Knock at the Cabin, however, suggest that Shyamalan has solved his most famous problem as a filmmaker.
Knock At The Cabin’s Reviews Hint Shyamalan's Twist Problems Are Solved
Positive social media reviews that followed Knock at the Cabin's January 2023 premiere suggest that Shyamalan's primary issue has been solved. M. Night Shyamalan movies have long been associated with plot twists, ever since the legendary ending of The Sixth Sense. The problem with this is that audiences now expect there to be a twist in every single Shyamalan film and, as such, these stings no longer land as effectively as they need to. In contrast to many of his divisive contemporary works, M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin has been received extremely well by both critics and audiences.
Even Paul G. Tremblay, the author of The Cabin at the End of the World, the book the film is based on, has publicly praised Knock at the Cabin. This positive reaction from the creator of the film's source material lands in complete contrast to that of the Shyamalan adaptation of The Last Airbender. In a Reddit thread, Dante Basco, voice actor for Prince Zuko in the Avatar: The Last Airbender television show, claimed that he was told not to watch The Last Airbender by the show's creators. These positive reactions indicate that Shyamalan has once again managed to construct an ending that satisfies in Knock at the Cabin.
Knock At The Cabin Could Bring The New Movie Age Of M. Night Shyamalan
The positive reviews received by Knock at the Cabin indicate that this film could represent the start of an M. Night Shyamalan resurgence. While the director has seen his share of derision in the past, Shyamalan has also been responsible for some of the greatest films ever made. There is a reason, after all, that The Sixth Sense became the second highest-grossing film of 1999, behind only The Phantom Menace, and launched Shyamalan's career.
Following the best reviews he has seen in nearly two decades, M. Night Shyamalan has pulled off his movie best twist yet in resurrecting his directorial future with Knock at the Cabin. The days of Shyamalan movie endings being associated with predictability and disappointment seem to be over. If early reactions to Knock at the Cabin are anything to go by, a whole new generation is about to discover the thrill of a well-executed Shyamalan twist.
