The Housemaid – THE Book VS THE Movie
What WAS that?
Freida McFadden
Book 2022, Movie Adaptation 2026
Stand Alone
Freida McFaddens The Housemaid is a bestselling extreamly popular thriller and now the movie adaptation just startet to air in movie theaters all around the world. I just read the book and saw the movie, and I’m honestly wondering – what WAS that?
The Housemaid – the story
The Housemaid is a thriller written by Freida McFadden in 2022, about a girl, Millie who moves into a rich family to become their housekeeper. The book does start with an epilouge, where the reader get to know that there is a dead body in the attic. The persons POV that we’re reading don’t know how he or she is going to explain that to the police.
The book is a short and intense thriller, where Millie soon understands that the nice american family that she now is living with might not be as they seem. As the story progress, Millie understands more and more that the wife Nina is making her life increasingly difficult, the husband Andrew seems more defeated by every day and that Millie might be in a dangerous situation. But, the Winchesters doesn’t really know who Millie is either.
Reading The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
I think The Housemaid was a fun and quite easy read. It’s only 300 pages, and it’s exciting from the first sentences. Frieda McFadden is really good at creating tension, and the creepy feeling of danger increases through the book. I like that it was fast paced, but even though it is quite short, I think the relationships had time to develop, the situation became naturally more intense and the twists were presented in exactly the right time.
I have read a lot of thrillers, and I liked the book. It was a good time, and I read it in two nights. It didn’t change my life or anything but I enjoyed it. I should say though, that the book handles a few very dark topics, so check your trigger warnings before you pick it up.
THE HOUSEMAID – THE BOOK VS THE MOVIE
The movie does a good job in some ways
And then we have the movie, which was… interesting. I’ve seen mixed reviews online about the movie, some like it better than the book. But I personally think the book was way better, for multiple reasons.
But, first of all, there were a lot of things I did enjoy. Amanda Seyfried did the role of the wife Nina really good (even though I pictured her both older and less goodlooking when I read the book). I also think Sydney Sweeney did the role as Millie well, even though she felt a bit young instead.
The beginning of the film felt quite fun and interesting, because I knew it would be exciting and probably a bit scary, but then they had made some choices I really don’t understand.
The choices I really don’t understand
The major diffrences between the book and the movie (except styling choices, props and other things) were according to me the pacing and the tone. And that made the film feel very different – in a bad way.
Even though the book was short, I think there was time for the relationships to develop, the dangerous feeling to grow and as a reader you got time to figure things out yourself and get surprised when the twists were presented to you. But in the movie, it felt rushed which also made some parts feel unmotivated. Read more in the spoiler section if you are curious in specifics.
What was that?
The tone was also very different from the book, which made it feel like a different kind of film. I don’t know if it was to handle the dark tropes and topics or why they chose to add humor in the dialouge in some very weird places. Even though it made me laugh, I didn’t think it made the movie better in any way. Instead, it gave the movie an unserious tone and almost made it feel like a bad scary movie. They even had a jump scare scene in it.
And – the movie relied more on visual effects, which I can understand in a way. They added a lot more blood and gore in the ending compared to the book, which I also thought was unecessary. The book focuses a lot more on psycological abuse and terror, and that can be portrayed well in movies as well, so I don’t understand why they went in this direction.
The Housemaid – The book vs the Movie – should you read or watch it?
If you want a fastpaced, short thriller with unexpected twists – then I would say that you should read it (check triggers, though). Like I said, I had a good time even though it wasn’t more but I think it could be worth your time if you like that kind of books.
When it comes to the movie, I honestly don’t recommend it. I love going to the cinema and watching film that way, so it was fun because of that but if I had watched it at home, I probably would want my time back.
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