View source for Secret Window

{{short description|2004 film directed by David Koepp}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name     = Secret Window
| image    = Secret Window movie.jpg
| caption  = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[David Koepp]]
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Gavin Polone]]
* [[Ezra Swerdlow]]
}}
| screenplay = David Koepp
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Secret Window, Secret Garden]]''|[[Stephen King]]}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Johnny Depp]]
* [[John Turturro]]
* [[Maria Bello]]
* [[Timothy Hutton]]
* [[Charles S. Dutton]]
}}
| music    = {{Plainlist|
* [[Philip Glass]]
* [[Geoff Zanelli]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Fred Murphy (cinematographer)|Fred Murphy]]
| editing  = [[Jill Savitt]]
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
* [[Columbia Pictures]]
* Pariah
}}
| distributor = [[Sony Pictures Releasing]]
| released = {{Film date|2004|03|12}}
| country = United States
| runtime  = 96 minutes
| language = English
| budget   = $40 million
| gross    = $92.9 million
}}

'''''Secret Window''''' is a 2004 American [[psychological horror]] [[thriller film]] starring [[Johnny Depp]] and [[John Turturro]]. It was written and directed by [[David Koepp]], based on the novella ''[[Four Past Midnight#Secret Window, Secret Garden|Secret Window, Secret Garden]]'' by [[Stephen King]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Depp's charisma makes 'Secret Window' worth a look|author=Macdonald, Moira|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2001876870_secret12.html|work=The Seattle Times|date=March 12, 2004|access-date=2011-05-24}}</ref> featuring a musical score by [[Philip Glass]] and [[Geoff Zanelli]]. The story appeared in King's 1990 collection ''[[Four Past Midnight]]'' and follows a struggling writer who is terrorized by an elusive adversary while dealing with an ongoing divorce from his estranged wife and tolerating her new husband. The film was released on March 12, 2004, by [[Columbia Pictures]]; it was a moderate box office success and received mixed reviews from critics.

==Plot==
After catching his wife Amy having an affair with their friend Ted, mystery writer Mort Rainey retreats to his cabin in [[upstate New York]]. Six months later, Mort, depressed and suffering from [[writer's block]], has delayed finalizing the [[divorce]].

A man named John Shooter arrives at the cabin and accuses Mort of [[plagiarism|plagiarizing]] his short story, "Sowing Season". Upon reading Shooter's manuscript, Mort discovers it is virtually identical to his own story, "Secret Window", except for the ending. The following day, Mort, who once plagiarized another author's story, tells Shooter that his story was published in a mystery magazine before Shooter's, invalidating his claim. Shooter demands proof and warns Mort against contacting the police. That night, Mort's dog, Chico, is found dead outside the cabin, along with a note from Shooter giving Mort three days.

Mort reports the incident to Sheriff Newsome. Mort drives to his and Amy's house to retrieve a copy of the magazine, but he leaves because Ted and Amy are there. Mort hires [[private investigator]] Ken Karsch, who stakes out the cabin and speaks to Tom Greenleaf, a local resident. At the cabin, Shooter appears and demands that Mort revise the ending of his story, giving it Shooter's twist, in which the protagonist kills his wife. When a fire destroys Amy and Mort's house, and presumably the magazine, Mort tells the police that he has an enemy.

Mort and Karsch agree to confront Shooter but first plan to meet up with Greenleaf at the local diner the next morning, but neither Karsch nor Greenleaf show up. On his way home, Mort encounters Ted, who demands that Mort sign the divorce papers. Believing Shooter is in Ted's employ, Mort refuses.

Later, Shooter summons Mort; when he arrives, Mort finds Karsch and Greenleaf dead. Shooter tells Mort he killed the two men because they "interfered." He warns Mort that he has implicated him in their murders and implies Mort should dispose of the bodies. Mort agrees to meet Shooter at his cabin to show him the magazine containing his story, which has been sent overnight by his agent. Mort disposes of the bodies.

Mort retrieves the package containing the magazine from the post office but finds that it has already been opened; the pages containing his story have been cut out. After a series of startling events, Mort realizes that Shooter is a figment of his imagination, unwittingly created to cope with his anger and carry out malevolent tasks that Mort cannot do – like killing Chico, Greenleaf, and Karsch, as well as burning down Amy's home.

Amy and Ted arrive at the cabin, finding it ransacked, and she sees the word "SHOOTER" carved repeatedly on the walls and furniture. Mort appears, having been taken over by the "Shooter" persona. Amy realizes the name "Shooter" represents Mort's desire to "SHOOT HER". Mort stabs Amy in the leg. Ted arrives and is killed by Mort while Amy watches helplessly. Mort approaches her while reciting the ending of "Sowing Season".

Months later, Mort has recovered from his writer's block, and his passion for life has returned. He is feared and shunned in town because of the rumors about the murders. Sheriff Newsome arrives and tells Mort that he is the prime suspect and that the bodies will eventually be found. Mort passively dismisses the threat and tells Newsome that the ending to his new story is "perfect". It is implied that Amy and Ted's bodies are buried under the corn growing in Mort's garden.

=== Alternative ending ===
An alternate ending was included on the home media release, explicitly showing both Ted's and Amy's dead bodies underneath the corn patch in Mort's garden.

==Cast==
* [[Johnny Depp]] as Morton "Mort" Rainey
* [[John Turturro]] as John Shooter
* [[Maria Bello]] as Amy Rainey
* [[Timothy Hutton]] as Ted "Teddy" Milner
* [[Len Cariou]] as Sheriff Dave Newsome
* [[Charles S. Dutton]] as Private Investigator Ken Karsch
* John Dunn Hill as Tom Greenleaf

==Production==
Part of ''Secret Window'' was filmed in the town of [[North Hatley, Quebec]] in the [[Eastern Townships]] approximately two hours south east of [[Montreal]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=805&dat=20030918&id=4-AuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UEkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4572,3989205 Google News, ''The Stanstead Journal,'' September 13, 2003]</ref><ref>[http://www.southstlawrence.worldweb.com/NorthHatley WorldWeb.com, ''North Hatley Travel Guide'']</ref> Other filming locations included [[Lake Massawippi]], Lake Sacacomie, Lake Gale and the village of [[Bromont, Quebec]].<ref>[http://www.writingstudio.co.za/page455.html The Writing Studio, ''The Art of Writing and Making Films - Adaptation Secret Window''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925134509/http://www.writingstudio.co.za/page455.html |date=2013-09-25 }}</ref>

According to director David Koepp on the DVD commentary track, the footage of the ocean scene during Mort's restless night on the couch was extra [[B-roll|b-roll footage]] taken from ''[[The Lost World: Jurassic Park]]''.<ref>
{{cite AV media
 | last=Koepp
 | first=David
 | year=2004
 | title=Secret Window
 | chapter=Director Audio Commentary
 | medium=DVD
 | publisher=Columbia Pictures
}}
</ref>

The film's ending is different from the source novella. In the novella, Ted and Amy survive Mort's attempt on their lives, and Mort dies. It is also revealed that through [[supernatural]] forces, the fictional John Shooter had manifested and come to life from Mort's imagination, and really was the one to commit the murders and arson.

==Reception==
[[Roger Ebert]] awarded ''Secret Window'' three stars out of a possible four, stating that it "could add up to a straight-faced thriller about things that go boo in the night, but Johnny Depp and director David Koepp ... have too much style to let that happen." He continues by noting that the "story is more entertaining as it rolls along than it is when it gets to the finish line. But at least King uses his imagination right up to the end, and spares us the obligatory violent showdown that a lesser storyteller would have settled for."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/secret-window-2004|title=Secret Window movie review & film summary (2004)|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|date=March 12, 2004|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|access-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> Ian Nathan from [[Empire (magazine)|''Empire'']] only awarded the film 2 stars out of a possible 5, stating that "The presence of the sublime Depp will be enough to get ''Secret Window'' noticed, but even his latest set of rattling eccentricities is not enough to energise this deadbeat parlour trick."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/secret-window-review/|title=Secret Window Review|author=Nathan|first=Ian|website=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire Online]]|date=January 2000 |publisher=[[Bauer Media Group|Bauer]]|access-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Secret Window'' has an approval rating of 46% based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Depp is quirkily entertaining, but the movie runs out of steam by the end."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/secret_window|title=Secret Window (2004)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=March 11, 2025}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has an aggregated score of 46 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/secret-window|title=Secret Window Reviews|website=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cinemascore.com/ |title=CinemaScore |publisher=[[CinemaScore]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809062201/http://cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date=August 9, 2019 |access-date=December 2, 2020}}{{cbignore}} Each film's score can be accessed from the website's search bar.</ref>

The film was a modest box office success, succeeding at recouping its budget of $40 million with a worldwide gross of $92.9 million.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Film|United States}}
*[[List of films featuring mental illness]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Mojo title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}

{{Media based on Stephen King works}}
{{David Koepp}}
{{Philip Glass}}

[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:2004 horror films]]
[[Category:2004 psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s horror thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s psychological horror films]]
[[Category:Films about adultery in the United States]]
[[Category:American horror thriller films]]
[[Category:American mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:American psychological horror films]]
[[Category:American psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:Fiction with unreliable narrators]]
[[Category:Films about dissociative identity disorder]]
[[Category:Films about writers]]
[[Category:Films based on American horror novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Stephen King]]
[[Category:Films directed by David Koepp]]
[[Category:Films scored by Philip Glass]]
[[Category:Films scored by Geoff Zanelli]]
[[Category:Films set in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Films set on lakes]]
[[Category:Films shot in Quebec]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by David Koepp]]
[[Category:Films about uxoricide]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:English-language horror thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s horror films]]