Hello, my friends! I have an interesting post this week, and kind of a funny story to go with it. A couple years ago, I read a book, titled Cabin at the End of The World by Paul Tremblay. I don’t remember who recommended it, or how I found it, but the premise sounded really interesting, so I read it. I ended up being hugely disappointed, because I had been expecting something a little scarier than it ended up being. It was just a little underwhelming.
Fast Forward a few years later, and I’m driving to work one morning, I see this movie title on the marquee of a movie theater, and it gets me thinking about that book. For some reason. When I get home that night, I start telling my husband about this book I think would make a good movie, and he literally says, “you’re talking about Knock at the Cabin, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry, what?!?”
“Knock at the Cabin, the new M. Night Shayamalan movie. It’s about this group of people who go to this cabin, and tell the couple that one of them has to die to save the world. That’s what you’re talking about, right?”
“Nope. I was talking about a book that I thought would make a good movie. Hilarioius that the movie that triggered my thought is the movie made from the book.”
Did you catch all that? It’s ok. I’m a little confused too. Basically, I saw the title of a movie, which made me think of a book that would make a good movie, but the book I was thinking of was already the basis of the movie that triggered the original thought.
It’s ok. No worries, because I’m not here to talk about all that, I just thought it was a funny story. If you’re confused I promise I won’t laugh.
Knock At The Cabin came out on Prime a few weeks ago, and since I’ve already read the book, I knew I wanted to watch the movie and write this post. The movie has Dave Bautista in it, who I LOVE as an actor, so that made me happy. And, let’s face it, he’s a BIG dude, who may look scary, but doesn’t strike me as being as scary as he looks.
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Synopsis
Eric and Andrew, along with their adopted daughter Wen, are vacationing in New Hampshire. The closest neighbors are miles away. One day, Wen is catching grasshoppers outside when Leonard walks up to her. He tells her that he needs her help, because he has to talk to her dads, and she has to convince them to let Leonard inside.
Luckily, Wen knows about stranger danger, so tells her dads not to let Leonard inside. Unfortunately for all of them, Leonard has 3 friends who show up with him.
What we think is a simple case of home invasion, turns out to be not so simple. Leonard tells Eric and Andrew that he and his friends have been given a mission. They are to convince Eric, Andrew, and Wen, to kill one of the three of them, in order to prevent the apocalypse. Now, Leonard loves kids (think Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy) so immediately exempts Wen from the bargain.
The downfall? Leonard, Sabrina, Adriane, or Redmond, can’t be the ones to choose who dies, and they can’t be the ones to actually complete the killing. Eric and Andrew have to choose, and the one who lives has to kill the other.
Now, that seems like an easy choice to make to save the world, right? Sort of. When talking with your loved ones, it does bring up interesting conversations about what you would do in a similar situation. My husband and I decided that he would be the one to kill me, because he doesn’t feel guilt, and I wouldn’t be able to live with it. Either that, or we’d let the world burn. I have to agree. There’s no way I’d be able to kill him, not even to save the world. Sorry, world. The guilt would kill me, anyway.
My Thoughts
I already said the book was a little underwhelming. Fortunately for Mr. Shayamalan, I absolutely ADORE his movies. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen almost every one, so when I found out Knock at The Cabin was one of his, I wanted to see it, even though I hadn’t been thrilled with the book it was based on. I wanted to see how he did with it.
He did such an amazing job! The book is small enough (281 pages), and there’s enough dialogue that I didn’t feel like too much of the book had to get cut in order to make the movie. It felt “finished.” You know that feeling, when you watch a movie, and you felt like they had to cut so much out that the movie felt not quite finished? Or the book has so much in it that they had to make 3 movies so they felt like they did it justice? Looking at you, Hobbit.
Knock at The Cabin fell in between these two. It felt finished, but didn’t feel overdone. Like many of M. Night Shayamalan’s movies, it concentrated mostly on the characters, and their relationships and dynamics. We got to see some of Eric’s and Andrew’s back story, which was cool. I don’t remember how much of that was in the book, but I know there was some.
The Cast
Like the characters in a book, the casting in a movie makes all the difference. I read the book long enough ago that I don’t remember too many of the characters and their relationships to each other, but I thought the casting was excellent.
Leonard
Dave Bautista is pretty much awesome in anything he’s cast in. Yeah, he’s probably pigeonholed in the “big dude” roles, but that’s because he’s such a BIG dude. He also strikes me as a gentle giant, though, and that comes across in this movie, mostly during his interactions with Wen. Yes, it’s creepy to see a grown man approach a little girl and make friends with her, but trust me, it’s even more creepy later. His meeting Wen is the least of your concerns.
Adriane, Sabrina, & Redmond
Leonard’s “friends” are honestly just as creepy as he is, but they are also just as committed to their cause. They are determined to save the world, and prevent the apocalypse. If the only way to do that, is for Eric or Andrew to kill the other, then so be it. In the book, the only one who really seemed to enjoy himself was Redmond, and I never really understood why. The movie explains it a little bit, but since that would be a small spoiler, I won’t say too much. I did find it interesting to find out who played Redmond. We don’t talk about those movies much anymore, but his red hair and his family made him a target for ridicule more than once.
Eric, Andrew, & Wen
This little family wanted to take a vacation. Suddenly, death for one of them means the safety of the world. I’d have trouble reconciling that too. Watching them together and watching their past helps the watcher, and in the book the reader, understand why each of them is they way they are.
Pacing
Luckily for both the movie and the book, the pacing was similar in both. While I didn’t particularly like the book, I won’t tell you not to read it. I won’t even tell you not to watch the movie. I will, however, tell you to read the book AND watch the movie. I think they both have pros and cons that the other balances out. Especially in terms of pacing. The book, obviously, has more time for conversation, so there’s more explained that might not be otherwise. M. Night does a good job of adding what he can, but I fully believe that movies can’t ever add everything. They can try, but then we’d have TV shows, not movies. Movies would be 8 hours long, at least, and no one would be willing to sit for that long. The cost of movie tickets would skyrocket, and theaters would go under because no one would ever pay that much for tickets.
So, it’s a good thing that directors and producers and production companies are able to cut the stories down. It’s simply deciding WHAT to cut that I think sometimes falls down. M. Night is a director who is really good at keeping the best bits and cutting out the fluff. I’ve always admired that about him. His movies don’t rush, but don’t drag, either.
My Recommendation
Like I said in the previous section, I do think you should both read the book and watch the movie. Which one you do first is up to you. I’ll put links at the end of this section for you to find both on amazon, and if you decide to purchase either., please use my affiliate link. I am so grateful for the support, and it doesn’t cost you anything extra. Even if the only reason you watch the movie is because you like Dave Bautista, that’s fine. He’s pretty awesome, so that’s a good reason. I didn’t think the book was all that scary, so if that’s your reason for reading, you might be disappointed. Read it for the psychological dynamic between families, not for the horror. There isn’t much.
Grab The Cabin At The End of The World on Amazon
Grab Knock At The Cabin on Amazon
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed my discussion and comparison of The Cabin at The End of The World vs. Knock At The Cabin. Both the book and the movie have great selling points, and I hope you check them out! I’ll be back next week with a new book review, and Cat’s next book review will be out this Friday, over Tales From The Gas Station, Volume 2. I hope you’ll come back and check them out! If you enjoyed this post, pleaase share with your friends, and subscribe so you never miss anything!
Until Next Time, Friends!
