by Warning: This post contains spoilers for Knock at the hut.
In the new film from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan Knock at the huta family faces a difficult choice: willingly sacrifice one of their own or, as the four armed strangers who are holding them hostage claim, the world will end.
The apocalyptic horror film, which hits theaters February 3, is based on Paul Tremblay’s award-winning 2018 novel The hut at the end of World and, like the book, aims to make viewers question what they believe to be true multiple times throughout the story – is all of humanity really in danger, or are these people just crazed internet conspiracy theorists?
The plot centers on the devoted couple Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and their daughter Wen (Kristen Cui), who is at the mercy of teacher Leonard (Dave Bautista), nurse Sabrina (Nikki Amuka Bird), Diner cook Adriane (Abby Quinn) and ex-con Redmond (Rupert Grint) while vacationing in a remote cabin. “We were called and united by a shared vision that has now become a command we cannot ignore,” Leonard tells them. “If you don’t decide, the world will end.”
Over the next 90 minutes, the increasingly desperate group show the family news reports of extreme weather, plague, and planes falling from the sky, even beginning to sacrifice themselves to them to convince them to make a choice.
However, Shyamalan and Tremblay have very different views on how the story ultimately unfolds. Here’s how Knock at the hut Ending differs from the book it is based on.
Continue reading: How Knock at the hut Convinced M. Night Shyamalan to face the apocalypse
How Knock at the hut differs from the book
Dave Bautista, Abby Quinn and Nikki Amuka-Bird will be there Knock at the hut.
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Just like in The hut at the end of the worldRedmond is the first to sacrifice himself and be killed by his fellow prisoners Knock on the cabin— an act they claim is the trigger for a series of tsunamis to hit the US West Coast. A shaken Eric sees what he believes to be a luminary just as Redmond dies. But this is where the film deviates from its source material.
After Redmond’s death in the novel, Andrew escapes from the chair he is tied to and is able to retrieve his gun from the car. He shoots and kills Adriane, then gets into a scuffle with Leonard in the book’s most heartbreaking moment, resulting in a stray bullet killing Wen. A dejected Leonard informs Eric and Andrew that Wen’s death will not stop the apocalypse since it was an accident and Wen was not a willing victim, before allowing them to tie him to a chair. Meanwhile, reports of new catastrophes keep pouring in on television.
Eventually, Sabrina kills Leonard and offers to guide Eric and Andrew to Redmond’s car, allowing them to escape. The group takes Wen’s body, heads to the car, and Sabrina tells them there’s still time to stop the apocalypse before she shoots herself in the head. Eric, convinced that the strangers may have been telling the truth, considers sacrificing himself, but Andrew won’t allow it. He tells Eric he’s not ready to give in to the demands of a god who wouldn’t accept Wen’s death as sacrifice enough, and the two drive away together. The ending of the novel is ambiguous, leaving the reader to decide whether the apocalypse was real or the reported disasters were just coincidence.
The more conclusive ending of the film
In Knock at the hut, Shyamalan presents a much more direct interpretation of the events at hand. After Redmond and Adriane willingly sacrifice themselves, Andrew breaks free from his bonds, retrieves his gun, and shoots and kills Sabrina. A scuffle ensues with Leonard, but Wen is not killed. Instead, Leonard kills himself and the family must decide what to do next.
Convinced that the four invaders were indeed the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and that the world will soon end if they don’t act, Eric convinces Andrew to shoot him so Wen can grow up and live the life they always dreamed for She. Heartbroken Andrew pulls the trigger, recovering Wen and the two drive away from the booth. At a diner in the first town they come to, they watch a news report stating that the disasters have stopped, suggesting that Eric’s death did in fact put an end to mankind’s impending doom.
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