Macabre...ish Horror Review: Gerald’s Game

Gerald’s Game, 2017/ 1 hr 43 min.

An odd couple, Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) and Jessie Burlingame (Carla Gugino), head out on a romantic vacation together to spice things up and it goes left pretty quickly when she freaks out over his sexual fantasy. But she wants him to stop and he decides not too. The ensuing struggle and argument end in him having a heart attack.

Which is terrible luck because she’s hand cuffed to the bed. And helps not coming because as he said, no one’s around for miles. The phone is near, car keys but they might as well be miles away too. Soon a stray dog wonders in through the open front door and starts feasting on Gerald. Plus all the windows are open, she’s in trouble.

Jessie’s also having some heavy hallucinations and may be losing her mind.

And the longer she stays cuffed to that bed, the worse it gets. The hallucinations aren’t just her and Gerald anymore but a truly monstrous man (Carel Struycken). But is he a hallucination?

He only comes in the dark and mostly stands in a corner and watches. Mostly.

Meanwhile, the hallucinations begin to intertwine with old memories of grooming and child abuse carried out by her Dad (Henry Thomas) and how she saved her siblings from him.

And what will she be willing to do to save herself.

This is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. And this movie has a lot of dialogue but the scare comes in the complacency. You get used to the talking and bam, something crazy or strange will happen and makes this one psychological horror that keeps you on edge.

Also plenty of jump scares and more of a suggestion of gore than actual goriness. The sound effects and soundtrack do a great job of elevating this horror and amplifying the eeriness of this thriller. Finally, all the recognizable faces are a plus. Well done.