FAQ

Published author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), newly estranged from his wife of 10 years due to her infidelity, finds himself accused of plagiarism by a stranger named John Shooter (John Turturro). While Mort attempts to provide proof that he first published the story two years before Shooter claims to have written it, Shooter becomes more and more aggressive, killing Mort's dog, two of his friends, and burning down his house. Meanwhile, Mort's wife Amy (Maria Bello) is pressing him to sign the divorce papers so that she can get on with her life with her new beau, the rubber-necking Ted Milner (Timothy Hutton).

Secret Window is based on Secret Window, Secret Garden, a novella in a collection of four novellas in the book Four Past Midnight (1990) by American horror writer Stephen King. The novella was adapted for the movie by American screenwriter and director David Koepp.

The fact that Mrs Garvey (Joan Heney), the cleaning lady, is seen cleaning Mort's cabin and then is never seen again has prompted some viewers to suggest that Mort either killed her (as he says to Chico, "If you don't bite her, I'll kill her.") or that she was a figment of his imagination. In the novella, however, Mrs Garvey was real, although Mort didn't like her very much because he thought she liked Amy better. It is also explained in the novella, as well as on the DVD commentary track, that she cleans once a week, on Tuesdays, the day that John Shooter first shows up. From there, the rest of the story (except for the epilogue) takes place over a three day period, so Mrs Garvey wasn't due back for four more days after the movie's climax on a Friday.

Think of the mirrors as "bookends" or "going through the looking glass," as some have described them. At the beginning of the movie, the camera pans through a mirror into the cabin where Mort lies sleeping on the couch. Near the end of the movie, the camera pans through a mirror outside of the cabin where Amy has just driven up with the divorce papers that she's hoping Mort will finally sign. According to the DVD commentary, the intended significance of the mirrors is meant to show that the incidents taking place between the two mirror shots are seen from Mort's point-of-view, whereas the final pan through the mirror alters the story to Amy's point-of-view.

Viewers have recommended several movies with twist endings similar to Secret Window. Two of them, The Shining (1980) (1980) and The Dark Half (1993) (1993), are also from stories by Stephen King. There is Hide and Seek (2005) (2005) in which a father and daughter are terrorized by the daughter's imaginary friend, and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) (1960) in which the mother of a motel owner murders the guests. Also recommended are Raising Cain (1992) (1992), Fight Club (1999) (1999), Memento (2000) (2000), Identity (2003) (2003), The Machinist (2004) (2004), Thr3e (2006) (2006), and The Uninvited (2009) (2009). Movies that deal with real cases of DID/MPD include The Three Faces of Eve (1957) (1957), in which a woman discovers that she has three distinct personalities, and Sybil (1976) (1976) in which a woman develops at least 13 different personalities. Another less known film is Lizzie (1957) (1957). Eleanor Parker makes all her transitions onscreen. Any of the various movie versions of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) (1941) might also qualify. Lila & Eve (2015) (2015) or Split (2016) (2016) may be of interest.