"Your dads won't want to let us in, Wen... But they have to. Tell them they have to. We are not here to hurt you. We need your help to save the world. Please."
The Cabin at the End of the World is a psychological thriller/horror novel written by Paul G. Tremblay, first published in 2018. It follows a family on vacation at a remote cabin who find themselves beset by a group of mysterious strangers who claim the apocalypse is impending and the only way to stop it is to make an impossible choice.
A film adaptation titled Knock at the Cabin, directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint, was released in theaters on February 3, 2023.
This novel contains examples of the following tropes:
- Agent Mulder: Eric was raised in a deeply religious household and is more open and susceptible to the idea that the apocalypse is going to happen. The severe concussion he suffers makes him more suggestible as well.
- Agent Scully: Andrew strongly rejects the very idea that the apocalypse is happening, and is able to come up with many (very plausible) explanations for everything that's occuring.
- Ambiguous Situation: The novel's central conflict is built around whether what the strangers believe and propose is actually happening or not.
- Author Appeal:
- The novel presents another example of a recurring theme that pops up in much of Tremblay's work, namely, whether a seemingly supernatural event is genuine, or merely perceived to be so by people desperate to find another explanation for something that they're unwilling to deal with in a rational manner.
- Tremblay's passion for pop culture also comes out in his (very detailed) descriptions of the show Steven Universe.
- Driven to Suicide:
- Sabrina shoots herself upon finding Redmond's stashed gun, rather than potentially live with the consequences of what she helped cause.
- This is also a part of the ritual that the group of strangers agree to, allowing themselves to be sacrificed one-by-one if the family hasn't made their choice by a certain time.
- Downer Ending: Eric and Andrew survive, and all of the strangers are dead. Unfortunately, there's still the possibility that the world will come to an end as a result, and even if it doesn't, their beloved daughter Wen is still dead.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Leonard's group is brought together by visions showing that this will occur unless they can find a particular family willing to sacrifice one of their own to prevent it.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Although the group of visitors aren't actually "friends" (being strangers that connected through an online chat room and only met in person for the first time that day), it doesn't take long for Redmond to stand out as the Jerkass of the group, and the others make their dislike of him pretty clear.
- Friend to All Children: Leonard befriends Wen at the start of the novel, and goes out of his way to try and shield her from some of the more horrifying aspects of the group's invasion. Notably, he's confident that the decision will fall between Eric and Andrew, and is absolutely devastated when she's accidentally killed.
- Gardening-Variety Weapon: The weapons that the strangers wield were all built by Redmond out of a variety of gardening and farming implements, and manage to be both highly effective as well as absolutely terrifying to behold.
- Gentle Giant: Leonard may be the largest and most intimidating of the group, but he's also the most peaceable and seems to genuinely care for the family's well-being.
- Just Before the End: The book takes place on the cusp of a (possible) global apocalypse.
- Kill the Cutie: Poor, innocent Wen. Her death not only devastates her fathers and Leonard, but it's also enough to make Sabrina abandon the plan entirely.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The novel's entire central premise is built around this, with the question as to whether the apocalypse is genuinely occurring, or whether it's merely a series of unfortunate, but purely coincidental events driving much of the discussion. The fact that the novel's ending is left deliberately ambiguous just feeds into the question.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Andrew retrieving his gun from the SUV to fight the strangers off seems like the smart decision... unfortunately, it directly leads to Wen's death when she's shot during Andrew's struggle with Adriane.
- Papa Wolf: Two of them in Eric and especially Andrew.
- Sadistic Choice: Although in this case, it appears the sadism of the choice is not being presented willingly. The strangers tell Eric, Andrew and Wen that they must choose one member of the family to be sacrificed, or the world will come to a destructive, violent end.
- Scenery Dissonance: Most of the book takes place during the day.
- Screw Destiny: Eric and Andrew ultimately decide to take this tactic and face the uncertain future - and possible apocalypse - together, rather than make the sacrifice required to stop it.
- Shared Dream: Potentially played with: the strangers are all drawn together by dreams of an upcoming apocalypse, which require them to come together and find a sacrifice to stop. Notably, however, their dreams all focus on different aspects, which Andrew points to as a sign that they aren't really shared at all, but merely individual delusions that they've linked together through their online discussions.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The four individuals taking the family hostage claim their actions are to prevent the apocalypse.
