Knock on the booth : pure M. Night Shyamalan
With Knock on the booth (2023), M. Night Shyamalan was bold again. From the beginning of his career, the director has always dared to carry forward his ideas and was not afraid suppose the fantastic or the supernatural in his works. Self The villagee (2004) may seem like an exception – since the film’s twist reveals that there really isn’t a dangerous creature in the forest -, after all, the filmmaker tends to always position himself in favor of paranormal phenomena. As with the ghosts of Sixth Sense (1999), Aliens from Signs (2002), or the island ofOld (2021) which ages its occupants. From there, we might know what to expect Knock on the booth (2023).
Adapted from the novel The cabin at the edge of the world (2018) by Paul G. Tremblay, the film sees Andrew and Eric go on vacation with their adopted daughter, Wen, to a cabin in the middle of a forest. Then four strangers will burst in and take them hostage. But their requests are surprising, since they say that this is to be avoided the apocalypsethe family will have to make an impossible choice: sacrifice one. As long as they refuse, the kidnappers will kill themselves before their eyes, causing disasters around the world. And soon, the end of the world.
As we wrote in our review of the film upon its theatrical release, Knock on the booth East “an extremely tense and scary job which manages to move in its last act“. An emotional film, carried by a solid cast that includes Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Kristen Cui as the family taken hostage, and Dave Bautista, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint and Abby Quinn as those who kidnap them .
The end announced
While the film is on Netflix from May 1, 2024, it’s nice to be back at the end. An ending which, as mentioned above, is predictable when we know the cinema of M. Night Shyamalan and in particular his relationship with religion. The director fails to pull off a plot twist to reveal that all this was false, that the kidnappers were crazy, even though he manages to leave the doubt hanging for a good part of the film. Knock on the booth. In fact, after several escape attempts, Andrew and Eric find themselves alone with their daughter, after the intruders have killed themselves. Unless the Apocalypse will indeed take place.
Eric will later claim to have had “visions” on several occasions, of a light with a silhouette, which lead him to believe his captors. And thinking about his daughter’s future, he chooses to die holding a gun. M. Night Shyamalan pushes tragedy at its peak, since Eric’s death must have occurred at Andrew’s hands. An act that will not prevent the latter from getting up and having a future with Wen. This is demonstrated by this final scene of the two protagonists, in the car, listening to the song that the three of them sang, as a final tribute to Andrew.
Reporting to the media and ecological fears
Beyond the fact that M. Night Shyamalan fully takes on the spiritual aspect and questions religious faith in a way that might discourage non-believers, with whom he questions himself above all Knock on the booth about conspiracy and our relationship with images. On what is of the order of chance or manipulation. Throughout the film, the director shows that his characters (especially Andrew) doubt what they are told. Even when the television media confirms the words of the kidnappers, Andrew thinks that it is a recording or a manipulated video. Conversely, after Eric’s sacrifice, he will have no doubts when he learns, again from the media, of the end of the disasters. The director therefore demonstrates a skill believe what we wantor he can accept.
Finally, the question we can ask ourselves is: Why was this family chosen? However, one of the kidnappers, Leonard, will be clear on this topic by stating that it is nothing personal, that they have done nothing wrong, but that they still have to make this sacrifice. Although the couple has been the victim of homophobic attacks in the past, this has nothing to do with their sexuality or family building. For M. Night Shyamalan (and this is to his credit), it is therefore about from an average familylike any other, subject to obligation sacrifice for the common good.
We can see a connection with questions of ecology. Wen embodies this new generation who must live in a world headed towards ruin, in the midst of global warming. To remedy this, there aren’t many solutions, other than make sacrifices drastically changing lifestyles. To hit harder and provoke more reactions, Shyamalan therefore opts for an extreme sacrifice.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
