Here’s Why M. Night Shyamalan Changed the Ending for ‘Knock at the Cabin’
M. Night Shyamalan is a movie icon. Throughout the course of his career he has directed countless classics and blockbusters. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Happening, and, more recently, Old, are a few of the many noteworthy titles Shyamalan has helped produce.
Shyamalan recently released another movie that, per usual, has everyone talking. Rupert Grint, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Abby Quinn are some of the talented actors who were cast in Knock at the Cabin. The 2023 film is based on the book “The Cabin at the End of the World,” and, according to Shyamalan, they needed to changed it for the movie.
A closer look at M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie ‘Knock at the Cabin’
Universal Pictures may have delivered one of the year’s biggest hits with Knock at the Cabin. Groff and Aldridge play a married couple who is vacationing with their young daughter. However, things quickly took a turn when a group of demanding stranger break in.
Naturally, as it typically goes in Shyamalan’s productions, things are not what they seem, and as the official previews showed, the matter at hand is much more complex than anyone could have ever imagined. Ben, Andrew, and Wen’s captivity came with a devastating twist.
The small family can avert an impending apocalypse by choosing to sacrifice one of the three family members. Including elements of the horror, thriller, and mystery genres, Knock at the Cabin seems like a must-see.
Why the ending had to be changed for the film
Knock at the Cabin is based on Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 novel, The Cabin at the End of the World. Many sources like TIME have shared the details behind the altering endings between the film and it’s predecessor novel. Beware, there are definite spoilers below.
In the book, in The Cabin at the End of the World, Andrew was able to escape and retrieve his gun. Andrew uses the gun to kill Adriane, one of the intruders. While trying to take down another member of the group, an accidental bullet hits and kills the couple’s young daughter.
At that point, Leonard informs Ben and Andrew their duties were not technically over since Wen was not an intentional sacrifice. Sabrina then kills Leonard before shooting herself, and Tremblay’s novel ends with Ben and Andrew driving away from the cabin. Readers must decide for themselves if any of it was real or the result of “deranged Internet-conspiracy theorists.”
However, in the 2023 film, Shyamalan‘s vision has a different ending.
Andrew still goes to get his gun, but in the movie, no accidental bullet is fired and Wen survives. Leonard, the only one left from the cryptic group, kills himself, leaving the family free to decide what would happen next.
Believing that it was all real, Ben convinces Andrew to shoot him. When Andrew and Wen finally return to town, they receive word that the apocalyptic events have stopped. This leads them to believe sacrificing Ben was what saved the world.
‘Knock at the Cabin’: reviews and success
Knock at the Cabin has been getting mixed reviews. The Guardian and Variety have called Shyamalan’s latest film disappointing. However, other sources like CNET have described Knock at the Cabin as, “a nerve-jangling good time.” Fortunately audiences can go see the movie themselves in theaters now and see what the hype is all about.
