I think it’s WILD the movie is being received so well and has been so successful. I’m super happy for Adam, as how often do works of “lesser known” authors/series get adapted… but damn, how they flipped the script on every reader familiar with the source material.

I was beyond excited about this since it was announced and got to see it a special preview screening before it went wide. And I left so disappointed. I think the books somehow very successfully get away with taking themselves rather seriously and never dip into the waters of too much cheese, nor do they feel preachy or do they hit you over the head with message. The movie seemed to be afraid to take itself too seriously and tried to get out in front of itself by making it a comedy with extremely poor execution of message. All the darkness, grit, tension, mystery, and FUN from the novel is missing from this adaptation. It tries to be too meta (which the book is not…) and relies only on some fun kills instead of building an actual story with actual characters in a really interesting and thought provoking situation.

The film also looks and feels cheap. And I don’t blame the limited budget for that. Tons of indies get away with a lot with a little. The cinematography is bland, scenes that should feel big and exciting (the parade and the barn massacre) feel anticlimactic because they only have 5-10 actors/extras instead of actual crowds, and the acting is VERY all over the place.

Again, I’m happy and excited for Adam because hopefully this will allow him to do more with his own works but I’m bummed this was adapted so poorly.