Event horizon

Room

Crit

I'll cut right to the chase: if you were considering giving this a miss because although you were blown away by Emma Donoghue's novel, you don't think you can put yourself through that again, I advise you to see it: I don't think you can have as intense an experience the second time around in any medium, but the second encounter with the material remains powerful.

If you've not read the novel and are avoiding the film because you fear the intensity of the experience, then your life is so hermetically sealed that you in particular might profit from the experience of one or the other. In which case, I recommend the book: the film is very good, and the screenwriter kept faith completely with the source, perhaps in part because the screenwriter was Emma Donoghue, but having the story come from the perspective of five-year-old Jack is vital, and the printed page allows that perspective to be maintained more cleanly and consistently.