The new Knock at the Cabin trailer teases a tense home invasion story, with apocalyptic themes. The film will be directed by M. Night Shyamalan, most known for his work in the horror genre through The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Split. The film is set to be released on February 3, 2023 and will star Jonathon Groff, Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, and Ben Aldridge.
Knock at the Cabin, based on the Paul Tremblay novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, focuses on a couple and their young daughter, who go to visit their cabin in the woods. They is then attacked by four strangers, who claim the family is the key to preventing the apocalypse. Further Knock at the Cabin details are unknown at this point, with its lower budget and absence of hype creating intrigue among horror fans.
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Released by distributor Universal, the Knock at the Cabin trailer sets up the premise mentioned above, in which the invaders assault the family as the latter try to fight them off. Bautista's character, who identifies himself as Leonard, then tells the tied-up parents they have come to prevent the end of the world. He emphasizes that a choice must be made to prevent the apocalypse, before a shot of their child with her face covered is shown for a brief second. Watch the trailer below:
The final seconds of the trailer show the film's title and then flash the words "MAKE THE CHOICE" on the screen, but what that choice entails is left unclear. The deliberate obscurity of the Knock at the Cabin trailer only heightens the intensity behind the film's mysteries. It's likely the choice will have to do with the child (played by newcomer Kristen Cui), due to her importance in the trailer and Shyamalan's proclivity for having children at the center of his stories.
Shyamalan's strengths have always been in building tension, a bubbling atmosphere, and creeping dread, which tend to be left out of his bigger-budget projects. Knock at the Cabin suggests a return to his roots that relies on those strengths, continuing the way The Visit and Split brought him back to major success after a string of high-profile disappointments. Though it's still too soon to say, Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin is looking to be the filmmaker at his very best, and with enough faith in his source material, it might be able to fulfill that lofty goal.