Review of Knock at the Cabin (2023) by Jonjohn048 — 10 May 2023

I remember seeing the trailers for this movie a while ago and thought the premise was solid and intriguing so I waited until it was available on Peacock since I never even heard of the book and I wanted to see if this movie could give me an idea of what makes it special and it overall, I really don't think it does the book justice because if this is really what made the book special, I'm genuinely concerned on what people have been smoking.

The first thing I'll say is that all the actors in this movie are great at their role and do a great job of showcasing genuine dread and desperation in order to hook you into the movie. Also, the fact there are two men who are gay, it's something I don't have a problem with if you can help me feel like their relationship makes sense and feels earned and while it's not the whole point of the film, I feel like it does feel earned with how it showcases their past with how they're willing to help each other and when one of them dies, it feels unfair and tense since you saw what they've been through and to see their relationship end this way and leaving the other one to care for their daughter alone is enough to help you sympathize with them.

The writing is pretty good and helps out to ensure the characters aren't stupid and are genuinely taking the situation very seriously. Finally, the themes it showcases are subtle but are revealed at the end helping you realize what the movie has been about the whole time.

And that's about all the positives I can come up with since the movie barely left that much of an impression on me. One of the problems I have is this weird plot-hole where it's revealed at the beginning that Wen likes grasshoppers and so does Leonard, but then it never comes back later on in the film making this character trait meaningless.

Speaking of Wen, she isn't used NEARLY enough in this film to make me care and considering she's a main character whose life we're supposed we're supposed to fear for, that's a major failing on the director's part.

But the worst part about this movie for me is that it's revealed that one of the intruders named Redmond apparently messed up one of the guys but he dies so early that it was never hinted that he ever actually did this and the "twist" that he was the one who did it feel shoehorned in without context and probably should've been cut.

Overall, the only reason I'm interested in reading the book now is only because there is no way this movie actually does the story justice on what makes it special aside from the gay couple story and the performances.

So overall, if you're interested in this story, try to go in with an open mind but even then, I still don't recommend this movie.