Gerald's Game - Film Review

Gerald’s Game is a Netflix original psychological horror film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name and it’s directed by Mike Flannigan and stars Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood. It’s about a married couple who take a trip to an isolated lake house in Alabama to spend a romantic weekend together in a bid to re-ignite their strained sex life. After arriving at the lake house they go straight to the bedroom and foreplay ensues, Gerald handcuffs Jessie to the bed and ends up dying of a heart attack leaving her trapped there. After a while she starts hallucinating and as she works out how to escape or at least survive her predicament we learn about her troubling past.  

I heard about this film through a few reviewers I follow who spoke highly of it so I was expecting it to be good, and it was! It took me about twenty minutes or so to get into it though, at first I found Jessie extremely irritating and I didn’t like Gerald either but after a while as the story unravelled she didn’t bother me anymore, I didn’t particularly like her but I understood her and I sympathised with her. This was a very well told story, it’s a simple enough premise and a large portion of it takes place in one room but it’s constantly moving and engaging, it reminds me a lot of Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours in that way.

It’s not quite a perfect film, for me at least I’ve never been a fan of character’s hallucinating other characters, I just think visually it looks corny, it doesn’t ring true to me as realistic in any way but it’s hard to really find another way to do it and I suppose that’s why they all do. I also, as I mentioned, didn’t really like Jessie which is definitely a preference not something I’d say is a deal breaker but personally I didn’t enjoy her company, she seemed like a bit of a drip and it was hard to care about her as a character, it’s more the idea of it that had impact, not because it was her, for me at least. 

Other than that I really enjoyed it, when it starts delving into her past that’s when it gets really good and don’t worry no spoilers but the end caught me completely off guard in a what the fuck kind of moment which I appreciated, at this point, five hundred million films in if you can surprise me in a good way fair play, I tip my hat to ya! I like films with a premise like this, characters trapped in a situation having to figure a way out of it, but it’s more about the psychological struggle than the physical, it’s well written and well directed film with great performances from the whole cast, they were all great, all of them… Both of them.   

I’d definitely give Gerald’s Game a recommendation, it’s on Netflix so it’s easy to access, I still managed to steal it though! If you’re without something to watch tonight Gerald’s Game is a good bet, it’s definitely some very Stephen King-esque moments in there as well if you’re into that, it’s a gripping experience and it’s hard to really fault any area of it in particular, it’s solid all round. If you’ve walked a similar path in life to me and you can’t quite put your finger on where you know Carla Gugino from, she was the chick in Sin City whose hand got cut off! I’m gonna give Gerald’s Game an 8.4, if you haven’t seen it, give it a watch! 

What’s your favourite Stephen King adaptation?