“My secret to all casting, and specifically kids, is cast good human beings.”
-M Night Shyamalan

These words from director M. Night Shyamalan hold true to many of his films, including Knock at The Cabin. Almost every character in the film seems to be a good person, and even the bad people have some good traits. The film has a premise that is startling and creative, and the characterizations are clever if somewhat off. The film lacks somewhat in its moments of terror and suspense, though, and the approach to its premise is cheesy. I also often had to ask myself where the film’s danger was going.

Knock at The Cabin has a setting that is typical for a film by Shyamalan—a cabin that is out in the middle of nowhere—like Signs (2002) and The Village (2004). It was also filmed, like some of his previous films, in areas surrounding New Jersey. Many of Shyamalan’s projects take place around the east coast because that’s where he lives and he doesn’t like to fly.

Knock at the Cabin begins with a girl, Wen, played by Kristen Cui, catching bugs and putting them in a jar. She has traveled to the cabin with her two dads, Eric and Andrew, played by Jonathan Groff and Ben Alridge. Wen is approached by a man named Leonard, played by Dave Bautista, and Wen, Eric, and Andrew soon find themselves being taken hostage by Leonard and his gang. The rest of Leonard’s gang are Sabrina, played by Nikki Amuka-Bird, Redmond, played by Rupert Grint, and Ardiane, played by Abby Quinn. The gang kidnaps them to help reverse an apocalypse. The crazy part of the situation is that the criminals try to remain friendly, but Wen, Eric, and Andrew are all scared for their lives, because they don’t know whether the apocalypse is a hoax or not.

Though the setup and the dialogue is a little hokey, it is also rather intriguing. But it’s hard to take the characters seriously in this odd film. Leonard is a very calm kidnapper, and Groff and Aldridge are a gay couple who are scared, but also kind of oblivious of the situation. I even found myself not following the situation at various points in the film. One of the problems is that the apocalypse doesn’t have a strong elaboration or foundation. It almost seemed that the apocalypse is just present on the back burner, so the film can create strange tensions among the characters.

I don’t want to elaborate too much on the apocalypse in the film, except to say that it’s not a common apocalypse, and it’s relatable to the world today. It also has fragments of strange fantasies mixed in with it. Fantasies in a film by Shyamalan tend to have meaning, and there is meaning to the fantasies in Knock at the Cabin. But again, the foundation for the apocalypse is lacking in the film.

Shyamalan has a gift as a filmmaker, and Knock at the Cabin is not terrible, but it’s not great either. It’s better than some of his previous films, but still lacks in quality. The film does have many surprises, and it can be suspenseful in a funny way. And as mentioned, the characterizations are off, but the film is still relatively fun and creative. Two and a half stars for Knock at the Cabin.

You People advertises itself as a fun romcom with a twist—the twist being an interracial relationships with both families acting prickly about the situation. But this film is not a fun romcom. Its derogatory and inappropriate racial comments makes for flawed humor, and I found it to be an almost two hour long offensive, confusing, and stereotypical film.

The plot of the film introduces us to Ezra (played by Jonah Hill), who falls in love with Amira (played by Lauren London). Ezra is white and Jewish, and Amira is Black. They know in their hearts that they are in love and that they are meant to be, but are their families on the same page as them? Ezra’s mother is Shelley (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), his father is Arnold (played by David Duchovny), and his sister is Liza (played by Molly Gordon). Ezra’s family leads a privileged life and they are extremely high maintenance. Amira’s parents are Akbar (played by Eddie Murphy) and Fatima (played by Nia Long), and she has many siblings. Amira’s family is Muslim. Akbar questions Ezra as a man and his faithfulness to his daughter. The film takes the family dynamics to heights of religion, class, and tension, but it is presented in a very demeaning way, and that is why even the title You People is a turn off.

Is racism a funny subject? Absolutely not. But have there been quality films with racial comments in the comedy genre? Yes. Have some films addressing diversity or class tried too hard to be funny? Not many, but that’s how I view You People. This film is not satirical. It is morally wrong, poorly written, and a just slew of negative racial stereotypes and derogatory words and tension.

I always try to find some positive aspects to a film, but this one is a challenge. The one positive I can find is the cast. The characters fit the concept of the film, especially Dreyfus and Duchovny as Ezra’s parents, and Murphy and Long as Amira’s parent. These are all diverse people with diverse attitudes. But the subject matter is delivered all wrong.

Simply put, I did not like this film at all, despite the cast. I found it hateful, disgusting, and offensive. The characterizations sickened me, and I felt offended throughout the film. There was a total lack of positivity. Bringing the concepts of race, ethnicity and culture to the cinema is important, but this film was over the limit. Netfix viewers will need to decide whether they want to watch this one, but I don’t recommend it. Two stars for You People.