IN knock on the door M. Night Shyamalan, it is immediately clear that someone will die. Except that it would be an unforgivable murder in the name of a great cause. Both things are mixed, in a brutal premise. Andrew (Jonathan Groff) and Eric (William Ragsdale) are a married couple who must make an impossible decision. One of them will have to kill the other or his daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) to avoid the end of the world. At least that’s what Leonard (Dave Bautista), Redmond (Rupert Grint), Ardiana (Abby Quinn), and Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird) say.
The group makes it clear that this is not a crime or a deadly impulse, but a moral responsibility. Solution is in the hands of his terrified victims. “We won’t kill them,” Bautista’s character says. “You choose who dies.” Then they simply wait for what is foretold to happen. Whether it’s a terrible event or what they explain, it will be the apocalypse.
Of course, the argument is based on a belief so similar to a religious act that the director does not distinguish it from one. In fact, the first part of the film is very similar to the ritual action. The group, led by Leonard, makes it to the cabin on foot and, with momentary devotion, describes in detail what is about to happen. From the “vision” that heralded the end of life on the planet to the commitment that brought them there. Each of them comes from different places in the US, as well as from different professions. No one could have imagined that they would be able to kidnap three hostages and order them to sacrifice themselves by divine command.
The director who returns to his best films
Very close in tone and form to the director’s first films, knock on the door This thriller Well written and detailed. Perfect for those who admired the director in his early years, the film goes back to how M. Night Shyamalan managed to give the horror its authorial meaning. Most episodes take place in the same room and between quiet conversations. The atmosphere created by the director is directly related to the perception of the tension of the forced tragedy.
Shyamalan has been criticized more than once for losing the ability to tell horror stories with the subtlety and intelligence that characterized his first big success. Sixth Sense. But in knock on the door, restores it and turns the plot into an experiment based on mixing rhythms and tones. While the first part is based on fear, when a group of strangers clear up a possible crime, the second part does it invisibly. A plot twist that makes the movie better than expected and far more solid than its first twenty minutes would suggest. The director has the opportunity to finally combine both things on the same stage and give his work an unpredictable look.
they knock on the doora good film that, despite its problems and, in fact, a too open ending, manages to concentrate its strength on believing. And in the aspect of faith as hope, and in terms of fanaticism. The feeling that a violent event is about to happen, even if there is no indication other than the word of a stranger, is irresistible. How does the movie look like signs, in which the alien invasion is told through the fear of the family. Likewise, its new premise departs from the obvious and points to a message of what we can do for the great cause it conveys, despite its difficulties.
Horror in the act of condemnation
But what drives his characters? Although Shyamalan rarely mentions God and never refers to the divine as the cause of the impending disaster, he emphasizes faith. The group of attackers, no doubt, is convinced that they are doing the right thing. I apologize to everyone for being forced to carry out a thankless mission. But not enough to stop or deviate from it. “We know how it all sounds” Sabrina speaks. “But someone will die and it will be one of you”Add.
To kill or be killed is the choice facing the characters. And a group of kidnappers, and their hostages. However, M. Night Shyamalan avoids the banal definition of villains or heroes. Even the concept of victims is threatened from which they cannot escape. Again and again the plot makes it clear that this is an oath of deep confidence in the unknown. Whether it’s killing a family member to stop a cataclysm, or dying together for love. knock on the door look at fear and pain from the same perspective.
Shyamalan uses the proportions and scale of furniture, partitions and walls to make it clear that there is horror in that place. Also, that they are all united by a bloody event. Trick reminiscent of the atmosphere of the series Servant from Apple TV+, also from the director. But this time, your point of view wants to present the audience with a shocking fact that is nothing else. What is the price of hope.
‘Knock on the door’: the blood that will spill in the middle of the forest
How does the plot mix the two? Through the desire to protect parents and the survival instinct of each character involved in the dilemma. Gradually scenario they knock on the doora makes it clear that what seems like a crazy idea might be true. An ambiguous moment that the director maintains through the stuffy confines of the title saloon.
The hostages are cut off from the outside world, and suddenly the very assumption that they are guilty of a global catastrophe seems plausible to them. Leonard’s endless litany, his ability to make it clear that the solution depends on forces other than himself, takes its toll on Erica and Andrew. Eventually, one of them becomes convinced that death can be a way to show love. To be more and more convinced that the fate of the world lies on his shoulders.
From this point on, the tape makes it clear that hope and cruelty can be part of the same thing. It is unlikely that history they knock on the doorTo manages to endure at least for his painful first twenty minutes. However, the compromise that the premise shows is not just about a large-scale cataclysm. This is a tragedy for a family that will lose, no matter what it does, the element that holds it together. Even without spilled blood, trust is broken. “Now we’re just strangers,” Eric mutters, becoming more and more convinced of what he must apparently do.
In the last segment, the kidnapping and the request of a group of “saviors” who are trying to avoid the fate of humanity become the least important moment. Opportunities are few and time is short. Kill or be killed, because the family will not survive the coming catastrophe either. “They will be able to decide how to enter the darkness,” explains one of the characters.
Pain has turned into a border into darkness
M. Night Shyamalan returns to his favorite topics again. Reasons why someone is capable of absolute good or evil. At the same time, the perception of a supernatural event as a scenario according to which more relevant events are unleashed. Most of the story manages to keep perspective, but in the final episodes the plot fades until it loses its cohesion.
As in many other cases, Shyamalan becomes frustrated with his conclusions, loses momentum and ambition. But knock on the door this is much more than his ambiguous conclusion. These are also the questions asked during and after the tour, the bittersweet feeling that tragedies, big or small, come from the unseen.
Whether it’s called love or divination, disaster comes from what we value and what supports our way of understanding what we value. An unexpected message in the middle of a feature film in which murder is a form of liberation.
Source: Hiper Textual
