See The Tense First Video For M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock At The Cabin

M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin looks terrifying.

By Joshua Jones | Updated

A new intense look at director M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin has been released online. The upcoming horror flick centers on a family of three taken hostage by four strangers while vacationing at a remote cabin. The strangers demand that the family make the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the apocalypse.

Knock at the Cabin stars Dune and Blade Runner: 2049 actor Dave Bautista. Also in the cast is Mindhunter’s Jonathan Groff and Harry Potter alumni Rupert Grint. The film is set to hit theaters on February 3rd, 2023.

Knock as the Cabin is based on the 2018 horror novel The Cabin at the End of the World by author Paul G. Tremblay. In the story, a couple named Andrew and Eric and their adopted daughter is taken hostage by four strangers during their vacation. The captors demand that one of the family members must be killed by the others to avert the apocalypse.

knock at the cabin

When discussing Tremblay’s story, legendary horror author Stephen King said he thought the novel was “thought-provoking and terrifying.” The Verge’s Andrew Liptak also seemed to have a strong, positive reaction to Tremblay’s novel, saying that the author “wrote a story that’s grimly reflective of the times we live in.” Shyamalan read a screenplay adaptation of Tremblay’s novel and immediately became interested in developing Knock at the Cabin.

Shyamalan would later rewrite the script and fully come on board with the project through his two-picture deal with Universal Pictures. Along with Knock as the Cabin, his other film deal with Universal included his 2021 thriller Old. Shyamalan has stated in interviews that the script for Knock as the Cabin was the fastest he had ever written in his career.

Casting for Knock as the Cabin was announced from December 2021 to July 2022. Regarding Dave Bautista’s casting, Shyamalan credited the actor’s performance in Blade Runner: 2049 for why he wanted to add him to the project. Bautista stars as a character named Leonard.

In addition to his upcoming appearance in Knock as the Cabin, Bautista is also set to star in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 3 for Disney. The actor said in multiple interviews that the next Guardians film would be his last appearance as Drax the Destroyer.

Bautista is also set to reprise his role as Glossu Rabban in director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2. Villeneuve was at the helm of Blade Runner: 2049. Bautista’s appearance in Knock as the Cabin and in Dune certainly makes him now one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors.

Regarding M. Night Shyamalan, Knock as the Cabin could be another win in an impressive run for the director. It wasn’t that long ago that critics and fans weren’t too pleased with Shyamalan’s work. The director reinvigorated his career after making the 2015 horror film The Visit.

Now it’s a matter of whether Knock as the Cabin will impress audiences. The premise sounds interesting, but we have seen many projects with interesting premises fail in the past. Hopefully, this project can capture many people’s imaginations and continue Shyamalan’s winning streak as a horror director.