Many consider Dave Bautista the greatest wrestler-turned-actor of all time, and it’s easy to see why. He can play the funnyman, the action hero, or dramatically belt out amazing monologues, whereas his contemporaries, John Cena and Dwayne Johnson, have only displayed mastery over one of these roles (although Johnson is attempting to disprove that with October’s The Smashing Machine). However, there are only a handful of films that allow him to showcase his dramatics, as most films either kill his character off too soon (Glass Onion, Dune Part 2) or he doesn’t get as much screen time (Spectre, Blade Runner 2049). But M Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin is one of the few films that gives Batista the chance to display his dramatic acting chops from start to finish.
In Knock at the Cabin, Bautista plays Leonard, a soft-spoken yet imposing stranger who arrives at a family’s vacation cabin with three others. Despite his intimidating presence, Leonard insists he takes no pleasure in violence, but claims he’s burdened with visions of an impending apocalypse, forcing the family to confront a grim prophecy: one family member must be sacrificed to prevent global devastation.
Bautista defies typecasting as Leonard, a gentle-voiced second-grade teacher in glasses whose towering build and tattoos make his soft demeanor all the more unsettling. His tender interactions with Wen (Kristen Cui) carry an undercurrent of menace — he may knock politely, but his sheer presence suggests he could force his way into the cabin at any moment. He’s joined by Adriane (Abby Quinn), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), and Redmond (Rupert Grint). Though clearly the group’s muscle, Leonard speaks the most — especially early on — as their unlikely, mannered leader, even as his presence terrorizes the vacationing family. He straddles this line perfectly, as it’s obvious he takes no glee in what he’s aiming to do, and you almost feel bad for his plight due to Batista’s earnest performance.
When the family of three inevitably chose not to kill each other, the invaders force themselves to kill one of their own instead, unleashing a plague upon each of their deaths. I found myself sympathizing with everyone: the parents (played by Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) and their adopted daughter, Wen — terrified, kidnapped, and possibly targeted as a family bonded by same-sex marriage — as well as the intruders, tormented by visions and convinced their apocalyptic burden is real. Shyamalan leaves you wondering: It can’t all be washed away as some sort of crazed, shared psychosis, can it?
As a result of each death, news stations continue to report on global disasters taking place around the world. And the feeling only gets worse as each intruder gets murdered by the others, and more devastation happens. The family fractures under mounting signs of the apocalypse, leaving you with a sense of Stockholm syndrome mirroring the characters’ own conflicted loyalties.
Despite the amazing premise, stellar performances, and mystery, the film begins to show cracks as we approach its third act. Coincidentally, this is around the same time Leonard becomes the final intruder to be killed off. Batista and Cui carry the film with their performances, which is probably why the film starts with the two bouncing off one another. But before he dies, Batista delivers one final monologue as the camera pushes in on him, assuring that his final moments will do what the entire film has done: showcase Batista putting on an acting clinic.
Once Leonard meets his end and the apocalypse is confirmed, the film loses much of its momentum. Still, Bautista is the undeniable standout, grounding the mystery with a performance that makes the unthinkable feel both urgent and real. Cast as the antagonist, his quiet strength and burdened sense of duty render him less a villain than another tragic casualty of circumstance. By the end, you’re rooting for his survival as much as the family he’s terrorizing.
Knock at the Cabin is available to stream on Peacock
