M. Night Shyamalan ‘Knock at the Cabin’ Interview, and Exclusive Clip

For the past three decades, M. Night Shyamalan has had a way of making audiences slowly inch their way to the edge of their seats. He’s mastered the art of finding fear in the familiar and makes room for curiosity in the vastness of the unknown. 

Shyamalan is attempting to keep his crown as the king of suspense with his latest film, Knock at the Cabin, in theaters Friday, Feb. 3. His films are known for their unexpected twists and turns, and this one, based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, is no different. The psychological thriller tells the story of a family, made up of a little girl and her two dads, who are vacationing in a remote cabin when four armed strangers hold them hostage and demand that they make an impossible decision in order to stop the world from coming to an end.

The film stars Dave Bautista as a soft-spoken second-grade teacher named Leonard who is the leader of the four strangers, and the role is a sharp departure from his usual action-centered roles in Guardians of the Galaxy and Army of the Dead. The film also stars Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird Abby Quinn, and Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint. 

Shyamalan has a long list of films like The Sixth Sense and Signs that have cemented him as one of the most renowned filmmakers of our time, and while his track record also includes films fans didn’t like such as The Last Airbender, that doesn’t stop him from trying to outdo himself. The director’s style and attention to detail in his films are what separate him from the rest. He makes movies with the intention that fans won’t want to look away from the big screen. So he believes streaming services would do a disservice to the kind of experience he wants his viewers to have. 

 “I believe in this art form of the movie theater. I don’t believe the narrative that has been told. I knew [streaming services] weren’t going to work. It’s what it is, an elaborate home video,” Shyamalan tells Complex. “There’s no urgency, and there needs to be. You need to stop your day, you need to stop multitasking, you need to leave your home, do all these inconvenient things, and experience it together and have this collective experience together like these fans are going to have tonight.” 

Universal Pictures held a special screening and Q&A for the film hosted by Pete Davidson (who replaced Kid Cudi last minute) this week in New York City, and Complex sat down with the famed director before the event to talk about his latest project. Fans were lined up outside of the door to get a seat and were thrilled to get a glimpse of Shyamalan, the way most people respond to movie stars. And in a way, he has become just as much a star of his films as the actors are. Shyamalan holds this kind of power by not diminishing his art. He has made it a point to not subscribe to the streaming services agenda, and might not do so any time soon. He believes in the communal experience of movie-going and hopes to continue giving fans that shared experience with Knock at the Cabin. 

Check out an exclusive video from the event above and read our full conversation with the director below where he talks about making movies specifically for theaters, his precise directing style, working with Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint, and whether or not he’s able to choose a favorite from all of his films.