M. Night Shyamalan on Knock at the Cabin, Why He Used a Lot of Close-Ups & Future Projects

When the line, “I see dead people,” was uttered, writer-director, M. Night Shyamalan, secured his place in cinema. The Sixth Sense, which went on to earn two Academy Award nominations that year, paved the way for nearly three decades of Shyamalan’s original filmography, now known for its psychological thrills and plot twists. In his most recent feature, Knock at the Cabin, the screenplay is an adaptation of the Bram Stoker Award-winning novel, The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, with themes the filmmaker found inspiration in.

During a family getaway, a couple, Eric and Andrew, played by Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge, take their daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) to a secluded cabin in the woods. While outside by herself, Wen is approached by a strange man who says his name is Leonard (Dave Bautista). At first, Leonard seems soft-spoken and kind, but when his “friends,” played by Rupert Grint, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Abby Quinn, emerge from the trees with weapons, this family vacation goes south quickly. These four harbingers tell the family they must make an impossible choice in order to prevent an apocalypse.

During the press tour for Knock at the Cabin, Shyamalan spoke with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub about taking on this project. In the interview, Shyamalan reveals how he almost wasn’t involved with the movie at all and how it eventually returned with him as the director. He explains why the movie doesn’t follow the novel beat for beat, how he worked with two cinematographers and natural lighting for a more “organic” feel, editing the script right up until the very last minute, and how the “degree of difficulty was the highest” of all his cameos to get into Knock at the Cabin. Shyamalan also discusses Apple TV+’s Servant and what movie ideas he has in the works.

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