Or at least that’s what I’m getting from what you wrote about the trailer.
I went to see "Plane" which is the latest 'Gerard Butler gets in trouble and kicks butt' movie. And before the movie I saw a trailer I don't get them.
It was called "Knock at the Cabin". From what I gather from the trailer, it's about a couple with their daughter, staying in a cabin in the woods, either living there or on vacation, when a group of people barge in and take them prisoner. These people, led by Dave Bautista, claim they don't want to hurt them but they have to ask them to save the world. The family has to agree to sacrifice a member in order to prevent the apocalypse. They are told that each time they are asked and say "no" lots of people will die. We are shown images of a tidal wave and a plane crush, with the implication that these things are the result of the family's refusal to give in. The rest of the trailer is a montage of escape attempts and the newcomers looking sinister and the family having doubts with one of them maybe coming to share in the revelation that is driving the intruders.
Okay, so that's the plot, but what is the conflict? How is this different than any other horror/thriller about a family trapped in a remote location by a bunch of crazy people? The thing about millions of people dying... is that supposed to be the hook, that it raises a real question of what you would do in that situation? Because for that question to work, you need a reason to go either way. It should be a thing like "what would you sacrifice for the greater good" or "how far would you go to get something you really wanted or needed?"
And this movie does not ask that question. There is no appeal for the other side of the question. Morality is not a numbers game. Something is right or wrong, no matter how big the scale. Why would I care about a bunch of strangers instead of my family. I'm not the one making planes fall or tidal waves hit. If someone is doing that and wants a dead member of my family in order to stop, fuck him. This is the easiest question or request to say "no" to.
"Please pick a member of your family to die, with absolutely no gain to yourself, the incentive being strangers might die on a slightly different schedule."
"No."
Rest of the movie? Hello?
