Is this movie close to the book?

Several themes and chapters in the book were left out, including the more intimate relationships with his wife and his daughter. The babysitter episode is also gone.

The book was told with a series of flashbacks alternating with Carey's life in the celler; the movie unfolded in chronological time.

The end of the movie and the end of the novel both point to the same conclusion but take a different road to get there because of the natures of the print and film mediums.

The film is streamlined and perfectly captures the essence of the novel without getting sidetracked or slowing down.

Director Jack Arnold wrote Carey's final monologue. I can never get through it without tears in my eyes. It is one of the most poetic passages in the science fiction genre.

What Is Essential Is Invisible

The book tends to focus a lot on his sexual frustration.