Knock At The Cabin Review Roundup -- Here's What The Critics Think Of M. Night Shyamalan's New Movie

The Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan's newest movie, Knock at the Cabin, releases this Friday in theaters. Ahead of that, reviews for the film have begun to appear online. Similar to many of Shyamalan's films, review scores for the movie--which he wrote and directed--are all over the place.

Knock at the Cabin is Shyamalan's first movie since 2021's Old and his first R-rated movie since The Happening in 2008. Knock at the Cabin stars Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge as a couple who bring their daughter to a cabin in the woods for a vacation. Unfortunately for them, they are taken hostage by a cast of strangers played by Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Abby Quinn.

These four strangers demand that the parents make a choice--to sacrifice one of the three of them--to save the world from the apocalypse. Every time one of them says no, hundreds of thousands of people die. As with Shyamalan's other films, there will probably be a big twist at the end.

Knock at the Cabin is adapted from the novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. You can check out some review scores and excerpts for Knock at the Cabin below. For more on the film's critical reaction, head to Metacritic.

Knock at the Cabin

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan, Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman
Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint, Abby Quinn, Kristen Cui
Release Date: February 3
Run time: 100 minutes
Rating: R

The Seattle Times -- 3/4

Where some of Shyamalan's films can get a little lost in their final act, Knock at the Cabin offers a conclusion that fittingly becomes more like a thematic Rorschach test. It is all centered on what you want to believe about what the truth of the story really was and if there was any meaning to be gleaned from the pain of it. It feels most in conversation with his 2002 film Signs, but with a greater sadness that borders on embracing a more grim cynicism." -- Chase Hutchinson [Full review]

The Guardian -- 2/5

"The Sixth Sense director's apocalyptic mystery horror is short on both mystery and horror and the ambiguous finale is deeply ridiculous." -- Peter Bradshaw [Full review]

The Playlist -- A

Far from infallible as a filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan's catalog of work is never anything less than bold. Sometimes the result is a classic, and sometimes the result is, at the very least, a curious misfire. Knock at the Cabin is very much an example of the former. This apocalyptic, psychological horror, his best work since Split, is a relentlessly gripping winner." -- Simon Thompson [Full review]

Variety -- No Score

"The Sixth Sense director has resuscitated his career more times than most, but this latest supernatural thriller feels like a tired remix of letdowns like Signs and The Happening." -- Peter Debruge [Full review]

Empire -- 4/5

"A harrowing, economical thriller that will sit with you for days, this is Shyamalan's best film in years, and a calling card for Bautista in his strongest performance yet." -- James Dyer [Full review]