M. Night Shyamalan’s “Knock at the Cabin” hits theaters on February 1. But the end of the feature film differs from that of the novel. The director explains why.
WARNING THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS ON THE END OF “KNOCK AT THE CABIN”
M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin thriller hit theaters last Wednesday. In this feature film prohibited for children under 12, a family spends a holiday in an isolated chalet in the middle of nature. They are then taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand an impossible choice from them in order to avoid the imminence of the apocalypse.
While they have practically no means of communication with the rest of the world, they will have to make and assume their decision alone.
For his fifteenth production, the filmmaker adapts the novel by Paul G. Tremblay “The Cabin at the End of the World“, published in 2018. But the latter chose to change the end of the book.
At the very beginning, Shyamalan was only to produce the film adaptation of the book written by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman. The initial screenplay faithfully transcribed the plot of the book. But when he finally decided to direct the film himself, M. Night Shyamalan chose to modify certain passages, including the end.
He explains in the press kit: “Thehe narrative was just begging to be changed. Besides, that was what got me excited about this challenge: I wondered if I was capable of making a horrific version of Sophie’s choice and if I could convince the spectators to come and see it”.
Go to the end of the promise
During our meeting, we asked Mr. Night Shyamalan about this decision. He explains to us:It is very simple. When I heard the book’s promise that they have to make a decision, they have no choice, I thought that was very strong. And I wanted to go through with this promise so as not to disappoint the spectators.”
At the end of the film, the family makes a choice. On the other hand, the end of the novel, although equally heartbreaking, is different.
Universal Knock at the cabin
In the book, Andrew (Ben Aldridge) grabs the gun and kills Adriane (Abby Quinn). He then fights with Leonard (Dave Bautista). During their tussle, the gun accidentally fires and kills young Wen (Kristen Cui).
Devastated, Leonard lets himself be tied up by Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew, but he announces that the girl’s death did not stop the apocalypse because it was not a choice of the family. So Andrew or Eric must die.
Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird) leaves the choice to the couple. If Eric hesitates, Andrew convinces him that it’s all fake despite the news footage showing the dramatic events unfolding all over the world. Sabrina commits suicide and the couple decides to stay together.
With this ending, the family indeed makes no choice and the original promise is not kept, while in the film, the director makes a different proposal that allows him to keep the original promise.
Altering the ending of the novel also allows M. Night Shyamalan to surprise the viewer who has read the book.
Universal
How to create and keep the mystery in a film?
We asked the director, who specializes in twists, how he managed to maintain the mystery until the last minute.
The latter explains to us that it is necessary for this to always remain from the point of view of the main characters. Thus, in Sixth Sense, the spectator discovers at the same time as Malcolm (Bruce Willis), that the latter is dead, in The Village, we discover the truth at the same time as Bryce Dallas Howard…
Shyamalan tells our microphone: “First, you need to know from the start that you’re watching a mystery movie. That’s the kind you’re into. Even thrillers, supernatural movies, horror movies… These are all variations of mystery movies.
What you need to do next is stick with the main character. If you watch Knock at the Cabin, there’s not a single shot that comes from another character’s perspective. The camera always stays close to the family. As much as possible to stay with them and show their emotions. Being limited by what the characters know and see is a real asset to maintain the suspense until the end.”