10 Years Later, Rebecca Ferguson's Murder Mystery Adaptation Is a Streaming Smash

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Rebecca Ferguson scared outside her home, holding her baby, in Girl on the Train

Published Jan 24, 2026, 7:20 PM EST

Chris is a Senior News Writer for Collider. He can be found in an IMAX screen, with his eyes watering and his ears bleeding for his own pleasure. He joined the news team in 2022 and accidentally fell upwards into a senior position despite his best efforts.

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A full decade after its release, The Girl on the Train has found a surprising second life on streaming. The adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ best-selling novel was a box office hit in 2016, but it sparked fierce debate over whether it lived up to the book’s psychological edge. Now, time — and streaming — has been kinder.

Directed by Tate Taylor, the film stars Emily Blunt as Rachel, an unreliable narrator spiraling through grief and addiction, with Rebecca Ferguson delivering a standout supporting performance that many now argue was the movie’s secret weapon all along. While critics once found the film uneven, audiences revisiting it today are responding to its pulpy tension, moody atmosphere, and old-school thriller energy.

In the streaming era, The Girl on the Train plays like a perfectly watchable, twisty weekend mystery — less concerned with prestige, more focused on vibes. It may not have aged into a critical darling, but it’s proving something just as obvious: Popular thrillers don’t need universal acclaim to endure, but sometimes, they just need time, distance, and the right algorithm push to get back on track.

Is 'The Girl on the Train' Worth Watching?

Collider’s review stated that The Girl on the Train struggled to find its footing, landing awkwardly between a sharp crime thriller and a pulpy murder mystery. The film followed Rachel (Emily Blunt), a deeply troubled divorcee whose daily train commute fueled an obsession with a seemingly perfect couple living nearby. When that illusion cracks, Rachel becomes entangled in the dangerous consequences of infidelity and deception.

Blunt’s committed performance anchored the movie, while Haley Bennett and Rebecca Ferguson delivered strong supporting turns despite uneven character development. The central mystery generated enough intrigue to keep viewers engaged, but excessive melodrama, tonal misfires, and unresolved plot threads held the film back. Comparisons to Gone Girl were unavoidable, and the movie lacked the precision needed to pull off such a delicate psychological puzzle. Entertaining on a surface level, it ultimately fell short of its potential.

"Girl on the Train features a very delicate mystery that relies on shocking behavior and complicated personal circumstances. Taylor needed to knock it all out of the park in order to deliver a winning adaptation. Even the slightest misstep is going to be magnified in this type of film and threaten the credibility of the narrative, and unfortunately that is what happens here."

The Girl on the Train is streaming now on Netflix.