Jo and I went to see this movie a few weeks ago, and thought it was really good. I learned afterwards that the movie was based on the first book in a series written by Australian author John Marsden.
I ended up buying the books (all 7) on Ebay. They arrived last week and I’ve just finished reading the first book, upon which the movie was based. It was interesting to compare the two.
I must say the movie producers did a pretty good job, there were no major departures from the original story. It sucks when moviemakers totally butcher a good plot. In this one were only a few small changes, but they made sense because you could see how they helped build up the dramatic effect. For instance in the final exciting scene all eight of the kids are involved in blowing up the bridge, whereas in the book it is only four of them and Corrie gets shot somewhere else.
I’m now onto the second book The Dead of the Night and relieved to learn that the kids are all still alive and fighting, in one way or another. Wonder if they’ll make a second movie?