8 Ways The Girl On The Train Is Just A Lazy Gone Girl

I don't think it's any coincidence that both movies culminate in an unexpected, incredibly gory death - Amy slitting Desi's throat as his climaxes and Rachel shoving a corkscrew into Tom's neck respectively. These movies are coiled, tonally dark thrillers that need blood to visually fly to release tension. However, there's a notable difference in the execution.

Gone Girl's is totally unexpected and tells the audience they're still massively behind on understanding Amy's calculating, no-compromise approach. The Girl On The Train's is highly signposted - it plays the "just out of reach weapon" card - and then culminates in a laughable moment of revenge; Hawkins was apparently surprised when people laughed at Anna twisting the corkscrew further, but I can't see how such a thinly-veiled moment could illicit anything else.

Beyond that, it's also a rather dud murder in terms of shock value because the film makes you want it - it's a straight up vengeance kill on the movie's bad guy, so as violent an act as it is, you're not abhorred or disgusted, and it thus feels rather bland.