THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (Rated R)

The Paula Hawkins best-selling novel “The Girl on the Train” is a thriller so familiar to millions of readers that one can only wonder if the cinematic adaptation is worthy of excitement for its legions of admirers.

Regrettably, I cannot shed light on the faithfulness of screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson to the source material, nor can I deliver sobering analysis for the novelist’s apparently conflicted emotions about the mental stability of the protagonist.

For the film version of “The Girl on the Train” you will just have to go along for the ride, much like the titular character does every day while adhering to a Metro-North train commute into Manhattan.

For the get-go, Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) has the dazed look of a young woman tormented by inner demons while riding the commuter train each day, staring out the window as if trying to catch a glimpse of a better life.

Indeed, Rachel’s life has unraveled. She’s divorced from Tom (Justin Theroux), who continues to live in their lovely suburban home with his new wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and their infant child.

During each morning commute Rachel relives the memories from just outside the home she once shared with her ex-husband, and still pesters him with text messages and late-night phone calls.

Obsessions of a different kind have also taken hold of Rachel, namely addiction to alcohol. On her daily commutes, she sips vodka from a water bottle, gamely trying to act sober as if to fool herself and others around her.

Rachel has also developed a fixation about the occupants of a two-story home where the backyard fronts the rail line.

During the morning and evening, she glimpses the seemingly idyllic life of the young couple living in a house only a few doors down from where she once lived.

The lives of the suburban neighbors are intertwined. The beautiful young wife Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett) has been serving as the nanny for Tom and Anna, but there may be trouble at home despite the outward signs of the romantic fires burning brightly with her husband Scott (Luke Evans).

Meanwhile, one day, on her way into the city, Rachel witnesses something shocking on the backyard balcony of Megan and Scott’s home.

The presence of another man kissing Megan appears to be the analyst Dr. Abdic (Edgar Martinez), and it’s not a therapeutic session.

Soon after, when Megan goes missing and is feared dead, Rachel tells the police what she believes she has seen.

Hard-nosed Detective Riley (Allison Janney) is skeptical, and you would be too if you had to rely on the word of an unbalanced alcoholic.

Given that everyone doubts Rachel’s grasp of reality, she takes up sleuthing on her own to uncover the clues to Megan’s disappearance. Even though often in a haze, Rachel stumbles upon some uncomfortable truths.

“The Girl on the Train” is a serviceable popcorn thriller with a few unexpected twists and turns. It’s plodding at times, but Emily Blunt does a great job of bringing authenticity to the role of a paranoid alcoholic.

TV Corner: 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' on FOX

Now more than 40 years old, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” remains a cult classic film popular for midnight theatrical showings where audience participation is de rigueur.

On Thursday, Oct. 20, FOX Television Network seeks to recreate the musical that had its initial roots on the London and Broadway stage.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again” is a game effort for an eerie homage to the original.

The story is rather basic. Two young, innocent sweethearts named Brad (Ryan McCartan) and Janet (Victoria Justice) get stuck in a deserted area on a stormy night with a flat tire.

Seeking help, they stumble upon the creepy mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Laverne Cox), a sexually ambiguous, flirtatious mad-scientist who is holding an annual Transylvanian convention to showcase the laboratory birth of Rocky (Staz Nair), a muscle-bound plaything.

In the original film, Tim Curry played the Frank-N-Furter role as a lascivious transvestite seeking to debase Brad and Janet. This time around, Curry forsakes fishnet stockings and takes a somewhat serious turn as the criminologist narrator.

Filled with terrific musical numbers that capture the spirit of the strange world inhabited by the good doctor’s sidekicks that include Riff Raff (Reeve Carney) and Magenta (Christina Milian), “The Rocky Horror Show” could be an event viewing for fans of the original.

This television version pays homage to the many late night screenings by having an actual audience watching some of the key scenes in a darkened theater while also re-enacting their eager participation of tossing popcorn and ad-libbed dialogue at the screen.

The FOX publicity folks sent over a helpful package of microwaveable popcorn, multi-colored confetti, noisemakers and party hats. I presume that I am supposed to pass along these suggestions for your own participatory enjoyment.

Whatever you choose to do, the “Let’s Do the Time Warp Again” edition of “The Rocky Horror Show” should prove an option for some homebound fun if a late night theatrical showing of the original is not available to you.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.