Friday, October 6, 2017

Gerald's Game (2017)

There seems to be an influx of Stephen King adaptations lately which has brought to the screen (via, Netflix...), "Gerald's Game", based on an early '90s King novel that I was previously quite unfamiliar with. Not sure how the book compares to the movie, but it definitely offers a heavy, HEAVY dose of King's brand of psychological-drama.

A middle-age couple drive out to a secluded vacation home to spice up their dwindling sex life with a few new 'kinks'. The husband pops a dick pill, handcuffs wifey to the bedposts and, as he's trying out a few deep seeded rape fantasies, he drops dead from a sudden heart attack. Of course, the Mrs. is still shackled by both arms to the bed without keys and WITH a hungry stray dog who roams in for her husband's (and potentially HER) body. As time progresses, a dialog develops between a mentally materialized version of herself and her dead husband who offer her insight into such matters as the downfall of their marriage, methods of survival and how a traumatic part of her childhood made her who she is...

The concept is fine and the two leads' performances are exceptionally strong. In all, I enjoyed "Gerald's Game" as a cryptic 'exploration' of a mentally scarred character being forced to face past traumas and how they steered her life - all while facing impending death. The ending is pretty fucking 'out-of-left-field' and totally unpredictable (unless, of course, you've read the book...) and definitely had me confused, but not enough to take away from the bulk of the movie I'd just seen. It's worth checking out if you like King's more psychologically-driven stories.

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