15 Film Adaptations Completely Different From The Book
7. Total Recall
That's right. We got another adaption based on Philip K. Dick's work. Total Recall was inspired by the short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale. The story takes place in a future where the company, Rekal, can implant fake memories in their customer's minds. Douglas Quail dreams of going to Mars, (which has been colonised by this point), and so, visits Rekal for memory implants of him travelling to the red planet. During the procedure, Quail's repressed memories are unlocked, revealing he's a secret agent.
Now, this is where the story diverts in the adaption. The movie version of Quail (who's called Quaid), heads to Mars, destroys an evil corporation, and brings peace to the citizens.
In the book, Quail never goes to Mars. Instead, he returns to Rekal to have his mind wiped and replaced it with a fantasy he's had since childhood. In this fantasy, rat-like extra-terrestrials were going to invade Earth but stopped after being won over by Quail's kindness. They agree to only invade Earth after Quail dies.
When Rekal tries to implant this fantasy into Quail's mind, they discover it is a real memory!