By: Miguel Ernesto Yusty

THERE'S A KNOCK AT THE DOOR is the film that M. Night Shyamalan will release in January 2023. He is the same director of THE SIXTH SENSE, the film that, in 1999, marked a turning point in his career. More than two decades have passed, and in that time the director has made less successful films, as well as achieving triumphs of various kinds. However, nothing has compared to the acclaim that THE SIXTH SENSE received. Where does THERE'S A KNOCK AT THE DOOR fit into his extensive filmography?

This film is a horror story written with the Old Testament as its guiding text. It's not a period piece; it takes place in the present day, which contributes to a greater sense of connection between the viewer and the story. For the most part, its characters are ordinary people, yet they carry a heavy burden. To ensure their objective doesn't seem absurd, they use biblical scriptures as a framework for carrying out their mission. Everything unfolds in a few, very mundane locations, creating the counterpoint the story needs to be compelling. As the minutes tick by, fate becomes a gravitational force that engulfs them all, leading them to a tragic end from which there is no escape.

Elements such as martyrdom, guilt, and blood sacrifice are common to the three main branches of Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and form the conceptual basis upon which THERE'S A KNOCK AT THE DOOR is built. This is where the film's appeal lies: it confirms an end for planet Earth, one that everyone has heard about at some point and that cinema, with its knack for realism, manages to bring to life. For this reason, in Shyamalan's repertoire of films, THERE'S A KNOCK AT THE DOOR is his most coherent creation since THE SIXTH SENSE.