Happy 31 days of Halloween!
This year, we’re celebrating with a different movie pick each day that made us audibly gasp, “WHAT THE FUCK?!“
It’s the 22nd, and today’s WTF movie moments pick is Gerald’s Game. Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel was not at the top of my must-see list for 2017, but only because I needed to separate myself from the book (Gerald’s Game). If you want to see an adaptation, you need to go in fresh and do your best not to compare and go in hating on it. That being said, I really enjoyed it.
Carla Gugino (Jessie) was fantastic! The screenplay was written by Flanagan and Jeff Howard, and it’s the best adaptation of one of Stephen King’s novels I have ever seen. Yes, that includes my childhood favorites It and Doctor Sleep (the latter only because I love the book more). Jessie and Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) head off on a romantic getaway to their lake house to spice up their marriage. What spice are we adding to this, you may be asking yourself. Well, we are talking about Gerald restraining his wife to the bed using a pair of handcuffs so that he can fulfill his sadistic fantasies. This “game” is not something Jessie is willing to participate in any longer; it’s just not her cup of tea. After Gerald unexpectedly dies, she’s left handcuffed to the bedposts with no escape.
Jessie is stuck with limited mobility, no access to food or drink, the phone is just out of reach, and nobody expects to hear from them for a few days. I didn’t expect the film to capture her feelings and desperate situation, being restrained and trapped. But it did. And by the time Jessie was desperate enough and built up the courage to free herself, I was uncomfortably squirming in my seat. I knew what was coming, and the whole situation seemed to be prolonged in the most spectacular fashion. Jessie cutting and degloving her right hand to break free is precisely the right amount of what the fuck.
