Stephen King's work has been subject to both ups and downs in the celluloid, some such as 'Green Mile', 'The Shawshank Redemption', and 'The Mist' have been powerfully triumphant, some have been swarmed with the "meh" factor, then others such as 'Dreamcatcher', 'Cell', and 'The Longliers' have been severely loathed. Now we have Mike Flanagan, director of 'Oculus', 'Hush', and 'Ouija: Origins of Evil', coming into to bring another adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name Gerald's Game. Premiering on Netflix, this film straps audiences in another ride of King's twisted horror methodology with hair-raising twists and thrills to ignite of shivering atmosphere that challenges viewers' expectations nearly every step of the way. When it comes to providing solid scares and nightmare-inducing aesthetics, the results are moderately satisfying with a few attempts that fall flat and an questionable ending. But with Flanagan working behind the wheel, it is safe to say his effort do justice to King's work. So the film is about Jessie (played by Carla Gugino) who takes some time off an spend a weekend with her husband Gerald (played by Bruce Greenwood) at a lake house in attempt to mend their fractured relationship. Upon arriving, Gerald treats Jessie to a kinky sex game involving him handcuffing her to the bed. When he suddenly suffers a fatal heart attack, Jessie is left handcuffed in the bed with no food, water, or anyone in contact to help free her. As the sun goes down, Jessie experiences some supernatural events that lead her into some dark secrets from her past about her father (played by Henry Thomas).
The film does not pine as your average survival tale, it is a supernatural one that takes a hostage situation and spins it with a Twilight Zone-esque twist. Mike Flanagan holds a solid patent for splashing viewers with cutting-edge thrills and wringing out surprises from supernatural concepts. His efforts pay off to the events that sketch out how a woman fights for survival when her husband's kinky antics are disrupted by an unforeseen tragedy. The execution in which Flanagan operates not only give both Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood the task of taking on challenging roles, but pay satisfying results to a hair-raising experience that dares to leave questioning every step. When Greenwood bites the bullet, Gugino is pulled into a deeply unsettling world where reality and imagination begin to merge, and the haunting horrors of her past are brought to light. That is when the story explores her past relationship with her father who had a morally despicable conduct, and the scares and thrills tautly dominate the atmosphere before taking horrifically gruesome turn that demands the squeamish to turn their heads. Not all the scares land well and some of the thrills fall short of effectiveness. But one major aspect that never fall short of such is the performance by Carla Gugino who packs pure grit for a role that requires her to carry nearly the entire portion of screen time while left stationary to a confined setting. Henry Thomas does a fair job at gripping us with discomfort as does Bruce Greenwood in his oddly dubious role. Every scene with these two present is bound to tie viewers up for one hell of a chilling position. If you are leaning at the edge of your seat with your hands squeezing the sides, you know each of them are getting the job done.
Gerald's Game is an engrossing experience lodged with sheer cutting- edge twists and chilling scares to keep things in rolling in spectacular fashion. It is a film worth indulging in when craving for chilling Stephen King-style scares, but don't expect anything groundbreaking. Going in with a heavy wish list will likely lead to some disappointment if not more.
The film does not pine as your average survival tale, it is a supernatural one that takes a hostage situation and spins it with a Twilight Zone-esque twist. Mike Flanagan holds a solid patent for splashing viewers with cutting-edge thrills and wringing out surprises from supernatural concepts. His efforts pay off to the events that sketch out how a woman fights for survival when her husband's kinky antics are disrupted by an unforeseen tragedy. The execution in which Flanagan operates not only give both Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood the task of taking on challenging roles, but pay satisfying results to a hair-raising experience that dares to leave questioning every step. When Greenwood bites the bullet, Gugino is pulled into a deeply unsettling world where reality and imagination begin to merge, and the haunting horrors of her past are brought to light. That is when the story explores her past relationship with her father who had a morally despicable conduct, and the scares and thrills tautly dominate the atmosphere before taking horrifically gruesome turn that demands the squeamish to turn their heads. Not all the scares land well and some of the thrills fall short of effectiveness. But one major aspect that never fall short of such is the performance by Carla Gugino who packs pure grit for a role that requires her to carry nearly the entire portion of screen time while left stationary to a confined setting. Henry Thomas does a fair job at gripping us with discomfort as does Bruce Greenwood in his oddly dubious role. Every scene with these two present is bound to tie viewers up for one hell of a chilling position. If you are leaning at the edge of your seat with your hands squeezing the sides, you know each of them are getting the job done.
Gerald's Game is an engrossing experience lodged with sheer cutting- edge twists and chilling scares to keep things in rolling in spectacular fashion. It is a film worth indulging in when craving for chilling Stephen King-style scares, but don't expect anything groundbreaking. Going in with a heavy wish list will likely lead to some disappointment if not more.