When The Woman in Cabin 10 came out back in 2016, Ruth Ware had us all hooked. The claustrophobic setting, the unreliable narrator, the slow-burn paranoia — it was one of those thrillers you physically couldn’t stop reading. Fast-forward to 2025, and Netflix has finally turned it into a movie… but not without changing quite a few things.
Here’s what stayed, what shifted, and what totally surprised me.
1. The Opening Trauma
Book: We meet Lo Blacklock right after she’s been through a terrifying home invasion. She’s anxious, barely sleeping, and using alcohol to cope — which instantly makes you question if you can trust her version of events.
Movie: Netflix switches things up. Instead of the break-in, Lo witnesses a murder while on a past assignment as a journalist. She’s still haunted, but she’s sharper, more confident — less fragile.
Book Lo makes us doubt her. Movie Lo makes us root for her.
2. The Assignment at Sea
Book: Lo’s sent on a boutique press trip aboard the Aurora, a small luxury yacht sailing through the Norwegian fjords. It’s supposed to be a dream gig — until she hears that scream in the night.
Movie: The Aurora becomes a massive, sleek superyacht hosting an elite charity gala. Lo isn’t writing about travel this time — she’s covering the rich and powerful behind the event.
The book feels trapped and tense; the movie feels glossy and high-stakes. Both work, just in totally different ways.
3. The Woman in Cabin 10
Book: Lo borrows mascara from the woman next door — a quick, forgettable moment that turns chilling when that same woman disappears.
Movie: Lo accidentally stumbles into Cabin 10 while hiding from her ex. She sees a bloody handprint, meets a mysterious woman, and later witnesses a body fall into the water.
Same core mystery, but the film turns the tension up instantly.
4. When No One Believes Her
Book: Lo tries to sound the alarm, but no one listens. Cabin 10 isn’t on the list, her notes go missing, and everyone keeps blaming her drinking.
Movie: The gaslighting gets way more physical. Cameras glitch, evidence vanishes, and Lo ends up literally fighting for her life — including one scene where she’s pushed into a pool.
The novel messes with your mind; the movie goes straight for your pulse.
5. The Scheme and the Villain
Book: The big reveal — Richard Bullmer plans to fake his wife Anne’s death using her look-alike mistress, Carrie. Lo gets tangled in their web of lies.
Movie: Same setup, but modernized. Carrie’s now a struggling single mom hired to impersonate Bullmer’s wife for the payout. There’s also a tech-and-charity scandal layered in.
What was once personal betrayal becomes full-on corporate corruption.
6. The Ending
Book: Lo escapes the yacht alive but scarred. Later, Anne’s body and Bullmer’s apparent suicide are found, leaving things morally gray and unsettling.
Movie: Netflix goes cinematic — Lo exposes Bullmer during the gala, there’s a chase, a gunshot, even a hammer fight. Carrie survives and later sends Lo a video message.
The book ends quiet and haunting. The movie ends loud and victorious.
7. Lo’s Reliability
This is where the biggest tone shift happens.
Book Lo is messy, unreliable, and deeply human. You’re never sure if what she’s seeing is real or imagined.
Movie Lo is smart, capable, and determined to prove she’s right. It makes sense for the screen, but it does lose some of that psychological blur that made the novel so gripping.
8. The Supporting Cast
Netflix trimmed a lot. Lo’s boyfriend Judah? Gone. Several side passengers? Combined or cut. The story now centers on Lo, Carrie, and Bullmer — a tighter, more female-focused dynamic that actually works for the two-hour runtime.
9. The Setting and Atmosphere
In the book, the Aurora feels small and suffocating — every creak of the floorboards adds to the paranoia.
In the movie, everything’s sleek and shiny. The danger feels bigger, but the fear feels… lighter.
10. Why the Changes Work (Mostly)
Even Ruth Ware herself said some things needed to change for the screen. Translating Lo’s anxious inner thoughts wouldn’t have worked visually, so the film swapped introspection for action. It’s faster, flashier, and definitely more “Netflix thriller.”
The result? It trades depth for spectacle, but still keeps the heart of the story: a woman fighting to be believed.
Final Thoughts
I have to admit, I liked the book way more than the movie. The suspense in the novel is next-level — you’re constantly on edge, never quite sure what’s real and what’s in Lo’s head. That whole unreliable narrator thing makes every twist hit so much harder and keeps you glued to the page. The movie? Gorgeous to look at, sure, but it just doesn’t give you that same nervous energy. Lo is confident, lucid, and reliable, without the pills, the drinking, or the messy anxiety that made her so compelling in the book. It’s more straightforward and, honestly, a lot less psychologically gripping. Plus, in the movie, she figures out what’s happening way too fast — in the book, the suspense builds and builds, and it should have been a slow-burn series, not just a two-hour movie.
Book Review: The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
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