M. Night Shyamalan has opened up about his famous twist endings, and whether or not he struggles with the perception of his most talked about trope.
To say the director knows a thing or two about filmmaking would be an understatement.
From his standout horror The Sixth Sense to the Unbreakable trilogy, Shyamalan has a long history making Hollywood thrillers.
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And while he's had his ups and downs over the years, he's never lost his drive, continuing to make movies that leave audiences on the edge of their seats.
Knock at the Cabin is no different, centering on a family being held hostage by a gang of strangers.
By generating the claustrophobia of a home invasion among an apocalyptic backdrop, and throwing in some standout performances from the likes of Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint, the psychological thriller is an entertaining, albeit nail-biting ride.
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Critics' reviews, though mixed, are mostly favourable of Shyamalan's latest work, with Knock at the Cabin earning a respectable 68 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
One of the key talking points has been around the suggestion that there's no shock twist, although this is certainly up for debate.
Without giving too much away, there is at the very least a significant reveal in the final scenes. It just isn't quite as dramatic as its predecessors.
Whether you agree with this sentiment or not, there's no denying the twist ending has become synonymous with Shyamalan's craft, so much so that it's been described as somewhat of a cliche.
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UNILAD were lucky enough to catch up with the director to speak about Knock at the Cabin and get his thoughts on the matter.
When asked whether he struggles with criticism about the divisive trope, Shyamalan told us: "I don't think about it. If I was being critical about criticism, their track record in art has not been the greatest.
"It's our jobs as artists to power our new voices into the mix," he added. "We're not asking is there an available seat that fits us. It's irrelevant."
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The filmmaker went into detail about how the very nature of the genre he works within gives way for twist endings to form naturally.
"I make mysteries, so ultimately there are answers to those mysteries that kind of naturally come with the type of stories that I tell," he explained.
"My whole job is to make everybody give up on trying to define things and just be like, 'He's just making another one. Wow, this one's different than the one before, it has a different flavour and different things that are good about it.'
"I have a tendency to be drawn to something that just feels fresh and that I haven't felt before. I don't mind killing off anybody, I don't mind making bad guys really complicated and sympathetic.
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"I find the format of telling stories very interesting, so thinking about a beautiful story and when does a character come into it. It's a really cool part of the process, not telling it linearly."
You can certainly see Shyamalan's passion for storytelling in Knock at the Cabin. Though it's based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, the filmmaker put his own stamp on the narrative by taking it down an entirely different path.
If you're interested in seeing the film – and deciding for yourself whether there is a twist ending or not – Knock at the Cabin is available to watch in cinemas now.
Topics: Film and TV, Horror
Daisy Phillipson