M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, Knock at the Cabin, will have an old-school thriller look. The Indian-American filmmaker who made his name with 1999's The Sixth Sense is coming off 2021's Old, which earned typically polarizing reviews but was a box-office success. Knock at the Cabin began filming last month, and is scheduled to hit theaters on February 3, 2023.
While the director known for his use of often over-the-top twists was perceived to have lost his way, a recent return to more modest budgets has brought with it a revival in critical appreciation, even to the point of reappraising past films like 2004's The Village. This has put renewed attention on his next project, Knock at the Cabin, described as a home-invasion horror movie set during the apocalypse. MCU star Dave Bautista joined the cast in December 2021, giving the wrestler-turned-actor another opportunity to lead a movie following his star turn in Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead.
Now, Shyamalan hypes the look of Knock at the Cabin by sharing a BTS photo from the set on Twitter. Pictured with his camera crew, the director writes that he's shooting the movie with lenses from the '90s, to give it a bit of a throwback thriller look. Shyamalan would certainly know what aesthetic to go for, given that The Sixth Sense is one of the defining examples of the genre in that era. Check out the original tweet below:
Click here to see the original tweet
While prospective viewers now have the promise of a '90s throwback to entice them into theaters next year, the Knock at the Cabin cast also has a few more exciting names to boost interest. Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint, who has starred in Shyamalan's Apple TV+ series Servant since 2019, has joined the project, as has Mindhunter's Jonathan Groff. Nikki Amuka-Bird and Ben Aldridge round out the announced cast list, though the character names of all five remain unannounced.
As the second in a two-movie deal with Universal, Knock at the Cabin seems to be moving along smoothly, with Shyamalan admitting it was the fastest he's ever written a script. This should be comforting for his fans, who are most engaged when the writer-director can execute his vision with full creative control, as polarizing as that vision tends to be. Although, with this news of cultivating a '90s aesthetic, perhaps Knock at the Cabin will be the movie that finally brings the Shyamalan thriller back into crossover-hit territory.
Source: M. Night Shyamalan/Twitter