Knock at the Cabin ending explained: Various theories explored

M. Night Shyamalan's 2023 movie Knock at the Cabin is a mystery-horror flick based on the book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay. It tells the story of an apocalyptic situation where a family is a hostage at their vacation cabin because of various disasters and must do the unthinkable to save the world.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Knock at the Cabin (2023). Reader discretion is advised.

Knock at the Cabin, co-written by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, ends with a plot twist. One character, Eric, sacrifices himself for the sake of his family and the world in a turn of events that very few audience members saw coming. When the family finally escapes, they realize from the news that the world has experienced catastrophic events that ended at Eric's sacrifice, leaving the audience with an open ending.

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Was the world ending in Knock at the Cabin?

In the ending scenes of Knock at the Cabin, most characters are dead because of the apocalypse, and Eric sacrifices himself to save his family. While Andrew is initially not keen on the idea, the audience later hears a gunshot offscreen, and the lightning stops outside. When Andrew and his daughter Wen leave the cabin in Leonard's car, the realization strikes that he must have shot Eric with the gun despite everything.

This detail is grim and heart-wrenching for viewers, mostly because the film seems to hint that only Eric and Andrew's pure love and protectiveness for each other drove them to this conclusion.

However, whether the world was truly ending is open for the audience to interpret. On one hand, the events throughout the movie might have led up to Leonard's arrival at the cabin to scare the family into making a decision that might prove their love for each other.

Or all the catastrophic events across the world immediately came to a stop at the point of Eric's death. The virus, the earthquakes, and the rising tsunamis suddenly lost their power. Shyamalan's directorial decisions keep the proof vague enough to go either way, and it is up to the audience to interpret whether the apocalypse is real or just a hoax.

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What was the response to the Knock at the Cabin ending?

Ben Aldridge as Andrew in Knock at the Cabin (Image via Universal Pictures)

The response to the ending of Knock at the Cabin was mixed, with some appreciating the twisted end while others stating it was unnecessarily confusing.

Fans of the film lauded the emotional ending and Eric's ultimate sacrifice. Many believe the ambiguity was essential to maintain the story's mystery and unveil the events that led to the ending.

However, many critics held the opposite view, stating it was too vague, giving talented actors like Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint very little to work with. Some audience members said the open ending did not suit the gravitas and overall tone of the movie.

A few readers of Paul Temblay's book The Cabin at the End of the World also pitched in with the dark ending, where Eric and Andrew's daughter Wen becomes an accidental sacrifice for the apocalypse. This was an element that Shyamalan changed in his rendition of the story.

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Knock at the Cabin is available on Netflix for streaming.