In the wake of considerable speculation, horror novelist Paul Tremblay has revealed that M. Night Shyamalan’s next film Knock At The Cabin is an adaptation of his novel The Cabin at the End of the World. With little specifics known about the film, fans were left to speculate about its title and the vague storyline description of “house invasion.” When the official title was revealed, the speculation grew even stronger. Tremblay told CNBC that he “spent a piece of his 2022 spring quelling online rumours and putting out Twitter fires” related to the book and movie when asked about the experience of keeping the project secret.
In early June, “it became impractical,” he said. “Like the majority of adaptations, there will be tale tweaks and variances compared to the book, so my readers will still be astonished by the film,” he says. It has been a long time coming for the author, who signed the option with FilmNation in 2017 and has been patiently awaiting the project. Even though Shyamalan was interested in producing the film once a filmmaker had been found, the deal fell through. As Tremblay put it, “When things didn’t work out with the initial director, Night was still interested in producing, which then turned into him wanting to rework the screenplay and direct as well.”
As soon as Shyamalan joined the project, “cautious hope” turned into “real-time excitement” for the author. Dave Bautista, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Rupert Grint feature in the film Knock on the Cabin Door. The film is rumoured to have a ’90s-style thriller feel to it. “When we were introduced by phone, Night and I discussed the book and I answered a lot of his questions about character and plot, about why I did what I did,” said Tremblay.
In terms of his scripting method, I’m not qualified to comment. I was able to pay a two-day visit to the set and see him and the team at work. He created a good creative environment that left me amazed. “The Cabin at the End of the World is itself a reaction to the home invasion film subgenre,” the author commented when asked about his pleasure at seeing his work on the big screen. It excites and intrigues me to see my tale recreated or refracted via the lens of film. On the 3rd of February in 2023, the film Knock At The Cabin will be released in theatres nationwide.