Netflix’s The Woman in Cabin 10 Has Fans Excited for Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid

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The new Netflix film starring Keira Knightley is a gripping and suspenseful thriller. Knightley plays Laura Blacklock, a journalist who witnesses someone being thrown overboard from a yacht, but no one believes her. The movie explores themes of manipulation, feeling trapped, loneliness, and the struggle to maintain your grip on reality, quickly becoming one of Netflix’s biggest successes in 2025.

While not flawless, The Woman in Cabin 10 features a strong cast including Hannah Waddingham (from Ted Lasso), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), and Guy Pearce (The Brutalist). However, critics agree the actors’ talents aren’t fully utilized due to weak dialogue and direction. Despite a promising mystery, the story doesn’t quite coalesce. Nevertheless, the film – and the source material it’s based on – is noteworthy, and has generated excitement for another related release later this year.

The Woman in Cabin 10 Has Rejuvenated the Adult Thriller Adaptation

Adapting adult thriller novels into movies is a long-standing and popular tradition in film. While many of these adaptations achieve moderate success, some, like The Silence of the Lambs – a Best Picture Oscar winner – have become truly iconic. Other well-regarded examples include The Talented Mr. Ripley and Along Came a Spider. This genre has consistently drawn audiences, but it experienced a particularly strong period in the 2010s, producing some of its most memorable films based on popular novels.

I absolutely loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequel! They were so gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat. Honestly, I thought the movies actually improved on the books, tightening up the plot and making everything even more intense. They really showed what this kind of thriller could be, and paved the way for a lot of other great stories like them.

For a while, it appeared that books titled with the word “girl” were destined to become popular thrillers, both on the page and on screen. Following the success of David Fincher’s films and the huge bestseller The Girl on the Train – which was adapted into a 2016 movie – several similar books, like The Da Vinci Code, haven’t maintained that same level of popularity. However, The Woman in Cabin 10 feels like a worthy successor to those earlier, highly successful stories.

As a big fan of twisty thrillers, I was really intrigued by Cabin 10, which is based on the Ruth Ware novel. It immediately struck me as being cut from the same cloth as those fantastic, atmospheric thrillers we saw a lot of in the 2010s. A lot of recent book adaptations have gone for a lighter, more comedic tone – think movies like A Simple Favor, for example – but Cabin 10 is different. It’s genuinely unsettling, really leaning into a dark, moody vibe and trying to pull you into this slick, slightly grimy world. It’s visually drained of color, and the filmmakers clearly worked hard to create that uneasy feeling. While it doesn’t totally nail the feeling of those earlier films, I think it’s a solid attempt and a promising sign for more thrillers like this in the future.

Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid Releases in December

A new movie, based on Freida McFadden’s novel, is coming to theaters soon. It centers around Millie Calloway, who takes a job as a live-in maid for a rich family. As Millie settles in, she begins to realize things aren’t what they appear to be within the family’s lavish home. Featuring Amanda Seyfried and rising star Brandon Sklenar, the film promises a suspenseful and atmospheric experience. With its talented cast and intriguing plot, it has the potential to be a major success.

She’s often been a topic of public discussion, and not always for the best reasons. While films like Americana and Eden haven’t performed well in theaters, people have focused more on her personal relationships, unusual promotional strategies, and political views.

Sydney Sweeney is undeniably captivating and quickly becoming a popular figure, but her real strength lies in her acting ability. It’s a shame that so much of the focus has been on her fame rather than her talent. Hopefully, the rest of the year will allow her acting to get the recognition it deserves.

Alongside her role in The Housemaid, Sydney Sweeney is hoping to showcase her acting range with a compelling performance in Christy. However, the recent unsuccessful release of a similar film – also starring a major actor in a biographical fighting story – might make it harder for Christy to gain traction. Ultimately, Sweeney needs to establish herself as a strong performer, and after appearing in some lesser-known projects, she seems to have the talent to do just that, giving audiences a reason to be optimistic about her future work.

This gripping thriller is expected to offer a different kind of movie experience when it comes out on December 19th, providing an alternative to big blockbusters like Avatar: Fire and Ash. Releasing it during the busy holiday season is a smart move for a suspenseful film aimed at adults, and the previous year’s success of Anyone But You suggests it could do well. With renewed interest in adapting thriller novels like The Woman in Cabin 10, hopefully, we’ll see more films in this genre, particularly if The Housemaid proves successful.

What Other Adult Thriller Adaptations Are Coming Soon?

A major strength of The Housemaid is that it’s part of a larger book series, which opens the door for potential sequels if the movie does well. The first book came out in 2022, and author Freida McFadden continued the story with additional installments, including a short story and a third novel released in 2024. The series concluded with The Housemaid is Watching, which the author believes will be the final book. Given the many twists and turns in these thrillers, each book could easily be adapted into a compelling film in the future.

Several other book-to-screen adaptations are also being developed. While the author’s novel Regretting You doesn’t fall into the thriller genre, an adaptation of another one of her books will. Verity, starring Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway, is a suspenseful story about a ghostwriter who uncovers surprising secrets about her client. It shares similarities with The Housemaid and is scheduled for release in 2026.

Adult thrillers will probably continue to be popular. However, it’s still unclear whether other new releases will do well in theaters.

We’re optimistic that the movie will be a hit in theaters. If it does well, it could help keep adult thrillers popular in cinemas for years to come, including 2025 and beyond.

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2025-11-09 07:49