Gerald’s Game review: This Netflix adaptation of Stephen King’s book is one of the darkest films you will ever see
There are few movies that manage to outdo their source material. There are fewer still movies that are based on a Stephen King book and still manage to outdo the source material. Netflix original film Gerald's Game, directed by Mike Flanagan, is one such movie.
There are few movies that manage to outdo their source material. There are fewer still movies that are based on a Stephen King book and still manage to outdo the source material. Netflix original film Gerald’s Game is one such movie. Directed by Mike Flanagan, whose directorial credits include acclaimed horror films like Hush and Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald’s Game may be said to be belonging to the genre I call ‘situational horror’, one or more people trapped in a scary situation that changed them totally – provided they don’t perish.
A word of caution. This film is not horror in the sense that there are ghosts. Well, there might or might not be ghosts, but it is not scary because of them. It is scary because it is one of the darkest film you will ever see. Gerald’s Game explores topics like misogyny and child abuse in gory detail and it is advised to watch the film only if you can handle them.
I read Gerald’s Game (the book) a few years ago and found it average. It was too verbose when compared to other Stephen King books. What could have been said in a short story, King took a whole book to tell. That is why I was not too excited when I began to watch Gerald’s Game. But this film reinforced my belief that sometimes good filmmaking can iron out the flaws of the book. Flanagan was really at the top of his game here.
The premise is simple enough. A married couple’s relationship is failing and they plan to spice it up by getting kinky in a remote country house. The husband Gerald Burlingame, played by Bruce Greenwood, brings handcuffs and ties his wife, Jessie Burlingame, played by Carla Gugino, by her hands to the bedposts. Jessie begins to feel uncomfortable and Gerald is accidentally killed. Rest of the film is made up of Jessie’s struggles to stay alive and sane and also somehow get herself free before it is too late.
As she gets hungry and thirsty, and begins to lose her mind when she sees her husband’s corpse eaten by a stray dog she fed before, she begins to hallucinate. Her husband appears and taunts her that it is her fault that he is dead. It somehow reminds one of Jack Nicholson in The Shining, going batshit crazy towards the end of the film. Jessie also begins to have conversation with her own self, who is a bit cheerier than her husband. Jessie’s mind then goes back to her childhood.
She remembers how she was molested by her own father as a little girl in a chilling flashback. This scene, like many others in the film, is very disturbing. All the inner demons Jessie had insider her, all instances of abuse, childhood or domestic, she had repressed inside her, come out over the course of the film. It is all very uncomfortable and harrowing to watch, and the film keeps the viewer on their toes throughout.
The suspenseful moments in the film are masterfully done. In a scene, Jessie picks up the glass of water, stretching her right hand from the handcuff and there is always a danger of the glass falling to the floor and shattering to pieces along with her last hope. It sounds routine, but the way this scene is shot is impressive. This is arguably Mike Flanagan’s best work to date. Stream this film on Netflix
Provided by : http://indianexpress.com
A word of caution. This film is not horror in the sense that there are ghosts. Well, there might or might not be ghosts, but it is not scary because of them. It is scary because it is one of the darkest film you will ever see. Gerald’s Game explores topics like misogyny and child abuse in gory detail and it is advised to watch the film only if you can handle them.
I read Gerald’s Game (the book) a few years ago and found it average. It was too verbose when compared to other Stephen King books. What could have been said in a short story, King took a whole book to tell. That is why I was not too excited when I began to watch Gerald’s Game. But this film reinforced my belief that sometimes good filmmaking can iron out the flaws of the book. Flanagan was really at the top of his game here.
The premise is simple enough. A married couple’s relationship is failing and they plan to spice it up by getting kinky in a remote country house. The husband Gerald Burlingame, played by Bruce Greenwood, brings handcuffs and ties his wife, Jessie Burlingame, played by Carla Gugino, by her hands to the bedposts. Jessie begins to feel uncomfortable and Gerald is accidentally killed. Rest of the film is made up of Jessie’s struggles to stay alive and sane and also somehow get herself free before it is too late.
As she gets hungry and thirsty, and begins to lose her mind when she sees her husband’s corpse eaten by a stray dog she fed before, she begins to hallucinate. Her husband appears and taunts her that it is her fault that he is dead. It somehow reminds one of Jack Nicholson in The Shining, going batshit crazy towards the end of the film. Jessie also begins to have conversation with her own self, who is a bit cheerier than her husband. Jessie’s mind then goes back to her childhood.
She remembers how she was molested by her own father as a little girl in a chilling flashback. This scene, like many others in the film, is very disturbing. All the inner demons Jessie had insider her, all instances of abuse, childhood or domestic, she had repressed inside her, come out over the course of the film. It is all very uncomfortable and harrowing to watch, and the film keeps the viewer on their toes throughout.
The suspenseful moments in the film are masterfully done. In a scene, Jessie picks up the glass of water, stretching her right hand from the handcuff and there is always a danger of the glass falling to the floor and shattering to pieces along with her last hope. It sounds routine, but the way this scene is shot is impressive. This is arguably Mike Flanagan’s best work to date. Stream this film on Netflix
Provided by : http://indianexpress.com