Usually when you've read a book series, you can roughly know what to expect from the movie adaptations. There might be slight changes and maybe modern updates if it's an old book, but generally, the plot and destination remain the same.
That is absolutely not the case with The Next 365 Days, which is now available to watch on Netflix.
The trilogy is based on the book series by Blanka Lipińska, but it's now clear to see why the official announcement at the start of production on the second and third movies said that they were "loosely based" on the books.
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365 Days: This Day had already made a major change to the book series with the character of Nacho, yet it still ended the same: with Laura fighting for her life after being shot by Massimo's ex Anna.
We were expecting similar notable changes in The Next 365 Days on its way to the same ending to the book. However, the movie ended up doing something totally different to the book it's based on, which is an altogether wilder ride.
(Spoilers ahead for both the book and the movie of The Next 365 Days.)
The Next 365 Days book changes
While the book and the movie do start in a similar fashion (with Laura having survived being shot), there is already a significant difference.
In the book series, Laura was pregnant when she was shot, but in the movies, she was pregnant when she was involved in the crash at the end of the first movie. Either way, the result is the same as Laura ends up losing her baby as a result of the traumatic event.
Even with this change, the movie could have adapted the book more closer if it chose to, but we should be grateful it didn't. The loss of the baby leads to Laura becoming an alcoholic and Massimo becoming a drug and sex addict. Their relationship is strained (as it is in the movie), but things get much darker in the book.
(Oh, also, Laura only survives her injuries in the book after Nacho procures her a heart for a transplant. Where did he get it? Nobody knows.)
Unlike in the movie, Laura is full-on obsessed with Nacho in the book and ends up living with him as Massimo sleeps around. While living with Nacho, she receives a package which is her dead dog (Massimo bought her a dog as a gift) in a box. At Olga's wedding, Massimo tells Laura that Nacho killed her dog.
Laura, the fool, believes him and breaks up with Nacho, before going back home to Massimo. She's held against her will by Massimo (again) after she discovers he was the one who killed the dog. Massimo drugs Laura and tries to get her pregnant, so she threatens to kill herself.
In an attempt to escape, Laura plans to seduce Massimo and escape when he lets his guard down as a result. Laura eventually gets away with Nacho, they get engaged and in an epilogue, it's revealed that they have a daughter together. Massimo has given up on Laura and divorced her, letting her keep the company too.
It's a happy ending of sorts, but there's a lot of icky dark stuff that has to happen along the way. By comparison, the movie is a breeze as none of this happens and it ends on a more ambiguous note, leaving us wondering if Laura will choose Massimo or Nacho.
We've only skimmed the surface of what happens in the book, so if you want to read the whole wild details, check out this review by Good Books user Just Another Perfectionist.
Author Blanka Lipińska co-wrote all three movies in the trilogy adaptation of her own novels, so the changes aren't somebody going rogue. The third book received a backlash from fans, meaning it's possible Lipińska saw the movies as a chance for redemption.
There hasn't yet been a fourth 365 Days book, but that's not a surprise as the trilogy comes to a definitive end. Given the changes in the third movie, it has a more open-ended finale that suggests we're not done with this story yet.
It remains to be seen if The Next 365 Days movie is better received by fans than the book, but if it is, don't rule out a fourth movie.
The Next 365 Days is out now on Netflix.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
