What tops your priority list—your family or humanity? Had you been a saint, or a social reformer like Lord Buddha, your answer would be the latter. For a regular person like us, family comes before anything. It is how we have been shaped since the beginning of time. Imagine you are on a vacation, and four people intrude on your vacation home, demanding you sacrifice one of your family members to save humanity. Would you comply? It seems like a tough choice, isn’t it? Well, in the Indian-American director-actor M. Night Shyamalan’s recent movie “Knock at the Cabin,” the characters are in a situation where they have to make this impossible choice. This psychological horror film revolves around a family of three who are held hostage by four strangers having sinister motives for unleashing an apocalypse. The film is an adaptation of the much-acclaimed horror novel by Paul Tremblay, “The Cabin at the End of the World.”
The film has a thought-provoking plot. It addresses certain social issues, including children with deformities being left for adoption. Also, it addresses the elephant in the room in society: homophobia. As the number of homophobic people is still high compared to those who accept them, homosexual people often take it upon themselves to have others attack them or sign them out. The film subtly shows how, in trying to “accept” or “support” homosexuals, people often overstep and, in turn, make people around them uncomfortable. Along with it, it points out the hypocrisy of the world: even in the 21st century, a “mother” and a “father” need to come and adopt a child; two fathers or two mothers still need to lie to avoid any further delay. Finally, the film adds a biblical twist by introducing “The Harbingers”—they are the ones who unleash the apocalypse. Though with all these elements, the film could have excelled but somehow managed to land on the average platform. Without further delay, here is everything you need to know about the characters of “Knock at the Cabin.”
Spoilers Ahead
Kristen Cui As Wen
The very pretty little girl that we see as the film opens is Wen. Wen was probably left alone by her birth parents in an adoption center, for she had a huge cut on her upper lip up to her nose. She was adopted very young (probably close to a year old) by the homosexual couple Eric and Andrew. Even since then, her life has been surrounded by the love of “Daddy Eric” and “Daddy Andrew.” Wen wanted to help animals when she grew up and thus studied grasshoppers. She was the first in the family to be approached by Leonard, the leader of the sinister crew. We also see Wen as a brave and smart one who understands the world a lot more than she is supposed to at her age.
Jonathan Groff As Eric
Eric is a kind-hearted husband and father who sure knows how to protect his family. We have seen Eric as a more thoughtful parent and as the one who teaches Wen to be more thoughtful and pays close attention to details. He is also a religious man, as we see, and wants to shield his daughter from everything that is frightening in the world. He was struck hard by one of the sinister crew members, and that hurt the back of his head. Finally, Eric becomes someone who would save not only the family but the mankind. He is one to understand the purpose of the sinister crew; he understood that they were the Harbingers (probably the religious ones?).
Ben Aldridge As Andrew
Andrew is the definition of a fun dad; he is the one who takes risks in life and teaches Wen to do so. Andrew was a fierce partner. Andrew’s parents were not appreciative of him coming out as homosexual, but that didn’t stop Andrew from being with his partner Eric and adopting a child. We also know that Andrew is a human-rights lawyer who believes the world runs on logic and reason. Thus, when the sinister crew came and shared that they were actually helpless and trying to save humanity, he kept on looking for a logical explanation for all of it throughout. He has an unpleasant side, too: he is not scared to kill anyone who tries to put his family in danger (we also learn he has an anger issue).
Dave Bautista As Leonard
We were introduced to Leonard a few minutes after the film began. He is a broad-muscled man who befriends the little, soon-to-be eight-year-old child, Wen. Leonard helps Wen catch grasshoppers but asks her questions about her personal life. Later, we came to know that Leonard is a second-grade teacher. Leonard is a more patient man and the leader of the crew of four who intruded on themselves as people who want to save humanity. Leonard knew the request for sacrifice from the family was wrong; thus, he kept on being patient with them. We see Leonard as the one who knows his way around a fight (both with and without weapons). However, we have seen him be really sweet and kind to Wen. However, Eric believed that the four were showing different aspects of life, and Leonard personified “guidance.”
Rupert Grint As Redmond
Redmond is one of the first people who scare you among the group of four. He is a man with a short temper and a very weird sense of humor. He is full of sarcasm, and the more we study him, the more we can see he is scared of something and does not have a shred of patience left in him. Also, he is the first of the Harbingers – he is the reminder of “malice.”
Nikki Amuka-Bird As Sabrina
Sabrina is a trained nurse and, by nature, a very soft person. She admits in a conversation that she is not the religious type but believes in something bigger than herself. Thus, she is now in that state, asking the family to do what needs to be done to save the world. We witness her taking care of Eric, dressing his wounds, and trying hard to make him comfortable. Thus, she was the reminder of another life aspect, “healing.”
Abby Quinn As Adriane
Adriane was the reminder of probably the most important aspect of humanity – “nurturing.”She is the one who, from the very beginning, was politely straightforward. She was a line chef and a mother. The love she shows to Wen while she makes her breakfast makes her a lot more human than the others.
The film opens with a piece of ominous music, probably to let the audience know of the impending danger. The film has a lot of plus points that we cannot ignore, but as a whole, the movie will fail to impact you as strongly as it should have. The characters are mostly unilateral, which does not give you a lot of scopes to analyze and be thoughtful about the film.
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