The Shack

Mack entertains the idea of going to the shack in response to the note’s invitation, thinking that it might in fact be a message from God, although he doesn’t tell Nan about it. He contacts his friend Willy to borrow a vehicle and then drives to the wilderness area where the shack stands, hiking the last stretch through snow and ice to reach it. It looks the same as he remembered it, with no sign of anyone else being there. Entering, Mack sees the bloody stain still on the floor and flies into a rage, shouting angry questions to God until his strength is gone. As he begins to walk away, the world around him suddenly transforms. Instead of snow and ice, his surroundings become full of flowers and plants and birdsong. A building still stands on the location of the shack, and the location itself is still the same, but the shack has changed into a beautiful log cabin amid flowering gardens.

Mack prepares to knock on the cabin door, but it flies open and a large African American woman wraps him in an embrace, shouting his name with delight. Two other characters soon enter the cabin: an Asian woman dressed as a gardener but with an ethereal quality, and a Middle Eastern man arrayed like a laborer.