Universal Pictures left us a little something special under the tree this year, with the studio dropping the all-new, full-length trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin. This is the first real look at the film, following the creepy teaser that came out a few months ago. That one established the basic premise, in which a couple (Jonathan Groff & Ben Alridge) on vacation with their daughter (Kristen Cui) are approached by a menacing group of strangers (led by Dave Bautista) and told that if one of them doesn’t kill a member of the family, the world will end.
What’s interesting about this new trailer is that it gives away the fact that the strangers aren’t necessarily speaking nonsense. We see quick glimpses of disaster that suggest there might be something to Bautista’s wild claim, leaving the two dads a truly impossible choice, as either one of them dies or their daughter does.
Knock at the Cabin is based on a novel called The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. Overall, it looks to be another contained, menacing thriller from Shyamalan, who has fared well doing these smaller-scaled flicks lately. While often polarizing, Shymalan’s movies, as of late, almost always make hefty profits as he keeps the budgets pretty low. Old, despite some very mixed reviews, made over $90 million worldwide, despite coming out when Covid-19 was everywhere, and a lot of theaters were still closed.
Here’s the official synopsis from Universal:
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.
From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).
Knock at the Cabin is in theaters on February 3rd!