This Film Adaptation Has Everyone Talking (& Even the Author Says It's Better Than the Book)

The book-to-screen pipeline is nothing new. From hit shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Bridgerton and The Queen's Gambit, to movies like My Oxford Year, I Know What You Did Last Summer and It Ends With Us, the list goes on and on. And while most adaptations spark heated “book vs. movie” debates, there’s one thing readers usually agree on: the book is almost always better.

But in a rare twist, the author behind one upcoming adaptation says the movie version might actually top the original novel. The project? The Housemaid.

Based on the bestselling 2022 thriller by Freida McFadden, The Housemaid is headed to the big screen on December 19. Directed by Paul Feig and written by Rebecca Sonnenshine, the film stars Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway, a young woman with a troubled past who takes a job as a live-in housemaid for an ultra-wealthy family. But what seems like a dream gig quickly unravels when Millie discovers the household’s dark, twisted secrets.

The film also stars Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone and Elizabeth Perkins.

Author Freida McFadden took to social media after a sneak preview and raved about the adaptation, writing, “The second it was over, I turned to my husband in the theater and said, ‘Omg, I think it was better than the book!’ (And he said, ‘Yeah.’)”