Gerald’s Game (2017)
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Gerald’s Game is about a married couple Jess and Gerald, whom go to a remote cabin in an attempt to rekindle their sex life and marriage. While Jess is handcuffed to the bed, Gerald suffers a fatal heart attack. With no one around for miles, Jess begins her battle to survive, not only with her own mind but with a hungry dog lying in wait.
The plot is terrifying, honestly. The movie is based on the 1992 short story of the same name by master horror novelist Stephen King. The story is a mind-bending marathon of dark imagery and disturbing flashbacks. Carla Gugino plays Jess, she is great. I have loved her since she was in Son in Law with Pauly Shore, and she hasn’t aged since then, she really is a treasure. The range she shows in this movie is impressive, you feel her pain both physically and mentally. Gerald is played by Bruce Greenwood and he really brings the sinister feel to the role, very intimidating at times. Flanagan is a great director, all the movies of his that I have seen have been good. Oculus was especially solid, check that out.
The special effects aren’t plentiful, but this is more of a psychological movie. The one scene of gore is intense and actually made me cringe. Her flashback scene with her dad really made me walk away. I have two little girls of my own and I couldn’t watch that part, it really got to me. It takes a lot to make me cringe these days so that kind of tells you the impact this movie can have. The ending is where it fell apart a little and I was somewhat disappointed. I wont give it away because this movie is worth a watch.
If you have Netflix, you should check this out, maybe I’m behind the curve since it came out 3 years ago but whatever. Not sure if I’ll watch this again but I was entertained for sure. I give Gerald’s Game a solid B. The ending left a little to be desired and the flashback scene made me too uncomfortable to rewatch often.
