By Irshad Khan 
The Woman in Cabin 10, adapted from Ruth Ware’s bestselling psychological thriller, brings the claustrophobic terror of a luxury cruise ship mystery to the screen. Starring Jenna Coleman as Lö, a travel journalist haunted by a traumatic home invasion, the film transforms an isolated setting into a pressure cooker of suspicion, paranoia, and danger. Directed by Julia Von Heinz, this atmospheric adaptation crafts a locked-room mystery that questions the reliability of memory and perception while delivering genuine scares and twisty plotting that keeps viewers guessing until the final reveal.
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Plot: A Mystery at Sea
The Woman in Cabin 10 follows Lö (Lorraine), a travel journalist recovering from a violent home invasion that left her psychologically shattered and perpetually anxious. Seeking refuge and a fresh start, she accepts an assignment to cover a luxury cruise aboard the Artemis, a state-of-the-art ship catering to ultra-wealthy passengers. Lö envisions a restorative voyage where she can rebuild her confidence and reclaim her career trajectory.
However, on the first night aboard, Lö witnesses something disturbing through the porthole of Cabin 10—a struggle, a woman’s cries for help, and what appears to be a body being thrown overboard. When she reports the incident to ship security and crew, they find no evidence of a woman in Cabin 10 and no missing persons. As Lö’s insistence grows, crew members and fellow passengers begin questioning her mental stability, suggesting her trauma-induced paranoia is creating false memories. Isolated aboard the ship with no way to escape, Lö must determine whether she truly witnessed a crime or if her fractured psyche is betraying her again.
The mystery deepens as Lö uncovers secrets hidden among the wealthy passengers, discovers inconsistencies in crew alibis, and finds cryptic evidence suggesting she may not be crazy. The film masterfully manipulates audience perception alongside Lö’s deteriorating certainty, creating a narrative where viewers question what they’ve seen just as Lö questions her own observations. The locked-room mystery intensifies as Lö races to prove the truth before the ship docks and the evidence—and her credibility—disappear forever.
Cast and Performances
Jenna Coleman delivers a career-defining performance as Lö, capturing the vulnerability of a trauma survivor battling both external threats and internal demons. Coleman portrays Lö’s paranoia and anxiety with authentic nuance, avoiding the trap of making her character seem simply hysterical or delusional. Instead, Coleman creates a protagonist whose fear feels justified while her certainty remains genuinely questionable. The performance walks a tightrope between sympathy and suspicion, keeping audiences invested even as Lö herself becomes increasingly unreliable.
The supporting cast enhances the mystery through ambiguous performances that could suggest either innocence or guilt. Colin Donoghue (as the ship’s security officer Jules) brings charm mixed with underlying menace, creating a character whose motives remain unclear until the final act. Paapa Essiedu (as fellow passenger Carl) provides moments of potential alliance and suspect behavior in equal measure. Glenn Close appears as Lö’s psychiatric contact, offering perspective on trauma recovery while introducing additional questions about Lö’s reliability. The ensemble cast creates an environment where every character could plausibly be involved in the mystery or genuinely unaware.
Direction and Atmosphere: Isolation at Sea
Director Julia Von Heinz crafts a masterfully claustrophobic atmosphere despite the ship’s vast spaces. The ocean becomes a character itself—beautiful yet imprisoning, with the Artemis floating as an isolated world where normal rules don’t apply. The cinematography emphasizes isolation through framing choices that dwarf characters against the endless sea, creating visual metaphors for psychological entrapment. Cabin 10, the supposed crime scene, becomes a Pandora’s box of dread, with each reopening revealing different details or frustrating absence of proof.
Von Heinz balances the film’s visual beauty with underlying dread, using the luxury cruise setting to create cognitive dissonance—the opulence and leisure supposedly therapeutic, yet everything feels threatening and wrong. The production design of the ship creates intimate spaces that paradoxically feel claustrophobic and exposed. Sound design plays a crucial role, with ship noises, ocean waves, and mysterious footsteps creating an auditory landscape that mirrors Lö’s growing paranoia.
Themes: Trauma, Memory, and Gaslighting
The Woman in Cabin 10 explores how trauma fractures perception and how survivors are routinely doubted and gaslit. The film examines the problematic tendency to dismiss female victims’ claims when those claims threaten powerful interests or seem “inconvenient.” Lö’s experience mirrors real-world dynamics where trauma survivors face institutional resistance and social skepticism—a pattern the film criticizes while also exploring the legitimate question of traumatized perception’s reliability.
The narrative raises uncomfortable questions: When does self-preservation become denial? How much should trauma survivors compromise their own observations to accommodate others’ disbelief? The film doesn’t provide easy answers, instead depicting the messy psychology of someone trying to maintain their grip on reality while simultaneously questioning whether that grip exists. This thematic complexity elevates the mystery beyond simple thriller mechanics into genuine exploration of trauma’s psychological aftermath.
The Mystery Structure: Misdirection and Revelation
The film employs sophisticated misdirection techniques that work alongside Lö’s unreliability to keep viewers perpetually uncertain. Every clue carries double meaning—evidence could confirm Lö’s account or prove her delusion. The pacing expertly manages revelation and obfuscation, creating moments where viewers feel confident in their deductions before new information undermines previous conclusions. This structural approach respects audience intelligence while refusing to provide easy answers until the climactic reveal.
The mystery respects the source material’s complexity while adapting it for visual storytelling. Clues are embedded in visual details, dialogue subtext, and character behavior rather than exposition dumps. Viewers attentive to background details and nuanced performances will notice hints about the truth long before the final act, though the film’s misdirection makes those hints easy to miss on first viewing.
Psychological Horror Elements
While not a traditional horror film, The Woman in Cabin 10 employs genuine psychological horror tactics. The terror derives not from supernatural elements or slasher violence but from the violation of safety, the questioning of one’s own mind, and the realization that witnesses to crime can be rendered powerless by institutional dismissal. Scenes that emphasize Lö’s isolation—finding herself alone in corridors while crew members ignore her pleas, being locked in cabins, communication failures—create genuine dread that accumulates throughout the narrative.
The film understands that psychological terror proves more effective than graphic violence when exploring trauma. Lö’s vulnerability, despite her efforts to project strength, creates a visceral discomfort as viewers watch her struggle against disbelief and marginalization. Every attempt to seek help that fails, every crew member who dismisses her, every contradiction in her own memory adds to the mounting sense of helplessness and horror.
Where the Adaptation Succeeds and Potentially Struggles
Strengths: The adaptation captures Ruth Ware’s novel’s psychological complexity while translating literary techniques into visual storytelling. Jenna Coleman’s performance provides the anchor audiences need despite Lö’s unreliability. The maritime setting creates natural claustrophobia, and the mystery structure maintains genuine uncertainty throughout most of the narrative. The film respects its source material while making necessary adaptations for the screen.
Potential Challenges: Complex psychological mysteries can struggle to maintain momentum through their final act when the mystery needs resolution. Some viewers may find the ambiguity regarding Lö’s reliability frustrating rather than compelling. The film’s exploration of trauma and gaslighting, while thematically important, occasionally feels didactic. Additionally, the extensive supporting cast means some characters remain underdeveloped, which could be viewed as either maintaining mystery or creating narrative gaps.
Critical Reception and Audience Response
The Woman in Cabin 10 appears positioned to attract both mystery enthusiasts and viewers seeking psychological complexity. The adaptation’s commitment to thematic depth while delivering genuine thriller elements suggests critical appreciation balanced with audience accessibility. Jenna Coleman’s performance and the film’s refusal to provide easy answers or oversimplify trauma create material that should generate meaningful discussion.
The film distinguishes itself from typical mystery thrillers through its exploration of how institutions fail trauma survivors and how doubt becomes a form of secondary victimization. This thematic weight combined with solid mystery mechanics creates a viewing experience that entertains while provoke reflection about institutional failures and the gaslighting of female witnesses.
Should You Watch The Woman in Cabin 10?
The Woman in Cabin 10 is essential viewing for mystery thriller fans and those interested in complex psychological narratives exploring trauma. The film delivers genuine suspense while refusing to simplify its central character or her psychological state. Jenna Coleman’s nuanced performance, the atmospheric maritime setting, and the sophisticated mystery structure combine to create compelling entertainment that also functions as meaningful exploration of trauma, memory, and institutional gaslighting.
The film is recommended for mature audiences comfortable with psychological complexity, unreliable narrators, and themes of trauma and institutional failure. Those seeking straightforward procedurals or clearly sympathetic protagonists may find the ambiguity frustrating. However, for viewers valuing intelligent storytelling, strong performances, and mysteries that respect audience intelligence, The Woman in Cabin 10 delivers a haunting and thought-provoking experience.
Where to Watch and Additional Information
Watch the official trailer here: The Woman in Cabin 10 Official Trailer
The Woman in Cabin 10 demonstrates how literary adaptations can translate complex psychological narratives into compelling visual storytelling. Through Jenna Coleman’s exceptional performance, Julia Von Heinz’s atmospheric direction, and a mystery structure that respects audience intelligence, the film crafts an experience that entertains while exploring genuine themes of trauma, institutional failure, and the gaslighting of female witnesses. For audiences seeking intelligent psychological thrillers with thematic depth and genuine mystery, this adaptation is a must-watch.