The Ending of 'Knock at the Cabin' Is Much Different From the Book (SPOILERS)
Updated Feb. 3 2023, 9:36 a.m. ET
Spoiler alert: This article contains major spoilers for Knock at the Cabin, as well as book spoilers for Paul Tremblay's novel The Cabin at the End of the World, which the film is based on.
Imagine this — you and your family are vacationing at a remote cabin when out of nowhere, four strangers arrive and demand you sacrifice one of your own to prevent the apocalypse. Sounds absolutely terrifying, right? Thankfully, it's not real; it's just the premise of M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming psychological horror film, Knock at the Cabin.
The much-anticipated film, which is based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, offers plenty of surprises; by the final act, audiences will be on the edge of their seats. If you're eager to know what happens, stick around as we explain the ending of Knock at the Cabin — both the book AND the film.
Jonathan Groff as Eric and Kristen Cui as Wen in 'Knock at the Cabin'
First, the book: Here's the 'Cabin at the End of the World' ending, explained.
Content warning: This section mentions a fictional instance of child murder and suicide.
After escaping the cabin and retrieving his gun from the car, Andrew kills Adriane. However, during a struggle with Leonard over the gun, Wen is accidentally shot and killed. Heartbroken over the 7-year-old girl's death, Leonard allows himself to be tied up, but he has the nerve to say that Wen's death hasn't stopped the apocalypse because she wasn't a willing sacrifice.
As a result, either Eric or Andrew must die. This pushes Eric to begin wondering if the apocalypse is real, but Andrew insists the disasters are coincidental and the intruders were expecting pre-scheduled news broadcasting.
Sabrina explains how she and the other intruders found each other online, describes the details of their plan, and reveals they were determined to move forward with the task even when they wanted to resist. But, following Wen's death, she doesn't want to follow through with the plan anymore and kills Leonard.
Sabrina offers to lead Eric and Andrew to Redmond's car, and they follow her into the forest with Wen's body. She retrieves the car keys and a gun, telling Eric there is still time to prevent the apocalypse before taking her own life. Eric then considers suicide, but Andrew argues that even if the apocalypse is real, he refuses to obey a god that does not accept Wen's death as enough.
In the end, neither Eric nor Andrew dies — the couple decides they don't want to leave the other alone by dying. They head for Redmond's car, choosing to stay together through whatever comes their way. At the end of the book, it's left unclear whether the apocalypse is real or not.
Now, the film: How does the 'Knock at the Cabin' movie end?
Content warning: This section mentions a fictional instance of suicide.
After Leonard and Sabrina sacrifice Adriane, a plague spreads across the globe. Andrew insists the disasters are coincidental, noting that the intruders were expecting pre-scheduled news broadcasting. As Sabrina drones on about her visions, Andrew manages to escape and retrieves his gun from the car — he shoots at her, and she runs away.
Andrew goes back into the cabin, and as he's telling Eric that they will be fine, Sabrina breaks into the house; he shoots her, and Leonard sacrifices her. They lock Leonard in the bathroom, but he tricks Andrew into coming in and steals the gun. With time running out, he asks the family if they will make a sacrifice — they refuse, so Leonard sacrifices himself by slashing his throat.
As the skies darken upon Leonard's death, Eric now believes that the events are real and explains to Andrew that the foursome is actually the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, rather than representing humanity's doom, they represent humanity's virtues — Redmond is malice, Adriane is nurturing, Sabrina is healing, and Leonard is guidance.
Not wanting Wen to grow up in a decimated world, Eric offers himself as the sacrifice. He believes that their family was chosen to make a sacrifice because their love for one another was so pure. As he describes a vision he's had of an older, cheerful Wen with Andrew, a gunshot rings out. Eric is dead.
Andrew and Wen then take off and find the intruder's truck with their belongings that corroborate their stories. They head to a nearby diner, where news reports confirm that the disasters have subsided and the world is saved.
Knock at the Cabin is now in theaters.