KNOCK AT THE CABIN The creative team discuss the dark and tragic ending and why it’s different from the book

M. Night ShyamalanThe last movie Knock on the booth is an adaptation by the author Paul Tremblay’s novel The hut at the end of the world, but the way the story unfolds in the film ends up being very different from the book. In a recent interview with Variety, writers Steve Desmond AND Michael Shermann talk about the film’s dark and tragic ending and why it’s different from the book, which was even darker.

The film is getting mixed reviews. While I thought everyone’s performances were great, I was still disappointed with the movie. I thought it was ok, but not one of the best in Shaymalan. My biggest issue is the lack of common sense with the characters. That’s one thing that can bring a movie down for me, is when the characters lack any kind of common sense.

Either way, I’m jumping right in!

In the film, the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of a family of three: dads Eric and Andrew (played byJonathan Groff AND Ben Aldridge) and their daughter Wen (played by the newcomer Kristen Cui). Their idyllic vacation in the woods descends into chaos when they are confronted by four menacing strangers: Leonard (Dave Bautista), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), Adriana (Abby Quinn) and Redmond (Rupert Grint) – who warn of an impending apocalypse and demand a sacrifice from the family.

As visions of the end of the world come true, Eric and Andrew refuse to kill anyone and Redmond sacrifices himself. The film and the book diverge as the drama unfolds. In the film, Adriane is next on the chopping block, but Andrew breaks free and takes a gun from his car, killing Sabrina in self-defense. Leonard locks himself in the bathroom, surviving a gunshot but ultimately taking his own life. A tearful Eric convinces Andrew to kill him as the only way to stop the apocalypse, and with Eric’s death, the world is saved. Andrew and Wen walk out to find the plagues have ceased in a bittersweet ending.

In the book, Andrew kills Adriane instead of Sabrina, and Wen is tragically shot and killed in the fight over the gun. Leonard states that Wen’s death was not a willing sacrifice and Sabrina abandons her mission, killing Leonard before taking her own life. Andrew and Eric leave with Wen’s body, facing the unknown end of the world. It’s much darker!

Speaking of changing the book’s original ending for the film, Desmond and Sherman told Variety:

“We adapted it a little differently than in the book, and then [Shyamalan] he had a whole new vision of what the ending could be. The book is the book and the film is the film, and we think both were exceptional mediums. This is a widely released film intended for a very large audience. There are some decisions the book made that were quite obscure and may have been a bit too much for a wider audience. This was a decision that [Shyamalan] immediately recognized. Now it’s a great ending.”

Actress Abby Quinnwho played Adriane, went on to discuss how while the new ending is still dark, it’s also a bit more uplifting than the book:

“I think it’s dark and terrifying, but uplifting in the sense that it ends with these two people at least still having each other. There is the last shot of [Andrew and Wen] in the car fooling around to music and you see the flash-forward of them when they’re older and seem happier, so I think it’s hopeful and uplifting that way. They seem to be coping and doing relatively well. But really dark!

Though the film offers a mildly uplifting ending, author Paul Tremblay says his book is “deliberately ambiguous” about whether or not the end of the world will happen, but explains that the film’s ending isn’t “unpromising” either. :

“I find it horrible that there is this higher power that will willy-nilly sacrifice human beings for everyone else. That doesn’t sound like a very moral thing to do, so I don’t find it that promising. I find the idea of ​​what happened in my book – that the two characters reject it, like, “No, we’re not going to sacrifice.” It’s wrong. Go on.’ This is a little more hopeful.

Shyamalan shared his two cents about the film’s ending, but won’t reveal how audiences should interpret it:

“The most important thing in the end is that everyone puts themselves in the shoes of the characters. What would they have done? I feel that genre helps me tell exciting stories. I’m generally an optimistic guy, so I get to do really dark stuff and audiences feel held back by someone who isn’t a nihilist. I can push pretty hard because you can feel the vocabulary is not from someone who is trying to hurt you.

What do you think of the way the film ended? Have you read the book? Do you think they should have stuck with the original darker ending?