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The 2023 thriller Knock at the Cabin breaks a worrying streak for M. Night Shyamalan’s movies after disappointing reactions to Glass & Old.
Knock at the Cabin’s stellar reviews break a disappointing streak for M. Night Shyamalan’s films over the past decade, signaling a promising comeback for the filmmaker. As his big follow-up to Old (2021), M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin has been released to mostly positive reviews, holding a 73% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Lauding the supernatural-horror film as “top-tier Shyamalan,” critics are praising the thriller film’s chilling themes and cast performances, particularly that of wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista.
Shyamalan is notable for being a powerhouse at the box office, but typically being unable to succeed with critics and audiences, as supported by Old‘s divisive response. Since partnering with Universal, Shyamalan has primarily funded his own movies, which allows him incredible creative freedom and seemingly a greater focus on succeeding at the box office over good reviews. Notable exceptions include The Sixth Sense, Signs, and even 2016’s Split, which were favored by critics and audiences alike. A worrying trend with Shyamalan’s follow-ups to Split suggested the filmmaker may have lost his touch with quality storytelling, but Knock at the Cabin provides optimistic assurance that this isn’t the case.
Knock At The Cabin Breaks Shyamalan’s Poor Reviews Streak
Knock at the Cabin is the first M. Night Shyamalan film since 2016 to receive mostly positive reviews from critics, with the Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint-starring movie garnering significantly higher praise than Glass (2019) and Old. While Glass and Old don’t hold the worst Rotten Tomatoes critic scores of M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography (that goes to The Last Airbender), their poor reviews were alarming after his comebacks with The Visit and Split. Shyamalan’s trilogy-ending film Glass has a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of only 36%, though its audience score is higher at 67% positive. Likewise, Old maintains mixed reviews from critics at a 50% score and a similar response from audiences with a 53% rating.
The shared underlying problem with Glass and Old was considered to be an uneven execution by M. Night Shyamalan in regard to storytelling. Glass and Old still offer shocking twists associated with the iconic director, but their poor reviews from critics indicated even lower expectations about overall quality ahead of Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin adaptation. By finally breaking his bad-reviews streak with critics after seven years, M. Night Shyamalan is proving that his movies still offer more than just mind-blowing twists. Not only is Knock at the Cabin’s initial 73% score on Rotten Tomatoes a welcome change from Old and Glass, but it also impressively nears the reactions to Shyamalan’s most revered films.
How Knock At The Cabin’s RT Compares To Shyamalan’s Best-Reviewed Movies
Kicking off at 73% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes is a relatively high score when compared to the rest of Shyamalan’s filmography. The director’s best-reviewed film is 1999’s The Sixth Sense, which was also nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense holds an 86% Fresh critic score and a 90% rating from audiences, which might still be considered a low number for such an iconic horror film. Knock at the Cabin has also managed to begin with a higher critic score than Shyamalan’s 2001 dark superhero movie Unbreakable, which holds a 70% rating from critics and 77% score from critics.
Considering Knock at the Cabin shares thematic similarities with Signs, it’s not surprising that the 2023 film is on par with the reaction to Shyamalan’s 2002 sci-fi blockbuster. Signs has a 75% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 67% score from audiences, indicating Knock at the Cabin will follow a similar critical trajectory. The 2023 film also falls slightly behind the acclaim for 2016’s Split, which holds a critic score of 78% and an audience score of 79% positive reviews.
Knock At The Cabin’s Success Proves Shyamalan Still Has A Promising Horror Future
While the reviews for Knock at the Cabin will inevitably shift following its premiere, the thriller drama starting at a 73% positive score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes indicates a welcome change of pace for Shyamalan’s storytelling. Not only is the filmmaker back on track with a more cohesive narrative and broader thematic intrigue, but he also has less reliance on twists for his movies’ success. Perhaps learning from the critical acclaim of his hit Apple TV horror series Servant, M. Night Shyamalan is cleverly translating the series’ successful elements into his film projects, which sets up an even greater comeback after Knock at the Cabin.
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