''Gerald's Game'' is a 2017 American

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed and edited by Mike Flanagan, and screenplay written by Flanagan with Jeff Howard. It is based on

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's 1992 novel of the same title, long thought to be

unfilmable Unfilmability is a type of medium specificity which prevents a work of literature from undergoing successful film adaptation. A wide variety of considerations can lead to a work being seen as unfilmable. These include aesthetic conventions, audien ...

. The film stars

Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001� ...

and

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...

as a married couple who arrive at an isolated house for a holiday. When the husband dies of a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, his wife, left handcuffed to the bed without the key and with little hope of rescue, must find a way to survive, all while battling her inner demons. ''Gerald's Game'' had its world premiere at

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

on September 19, 2017, and was released on September 29, 2017, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. It received very positive reviews from critics, who lauded Gugino's performance; Flanagan's direction, and the film's themes and their treatment, were also singled out.

Plot

Jessie and Gerald Burlingame arrive at an isolated lake house in

Fairhope, Alabama Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2020 Census lists the population of the city as 22,477. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolita ...

for a romantic getaway. While Gerald takes

Viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...

, Jessie feeds raw beef to a stray dog outside. Inside, she changes into a new

slip Slip or SLIP may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole * Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting * Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy Computing and ...

and Gerald restrains her with a set of handcuffs locked to the bedposts. He begins to enact a stranger

rape fantasy A rape fantasy (sometimes referred to as rapeplay) or a ravishment is a sexual fantasy involving imagining or pretending being coerced or coercing another into sexual activity. In sexual roleplay, it involves acting out roles of coercive sex. R ...

; she half-heartedly plays along but soon becomes uncomfortable, telling him to stop and uncuff her. After a heated argument in which he accuses her of not even trying to rekindle their relationship, Gerald dies of a

, falling onto the floor and leaving Jessie trapped in the handcuffs. A few hours pass. The dog enters through the open door of the house. Jessie tries to scare it away, but it bites a chunk out of Gerald's arm and eats it. Gerald stands up and begins talking; when Jessie notices his body remains on the floor, she realizes she is hallucinating. He taunts her about the truths of their strained marriage and his erectile dysfunction. He then informs her that she is beginning to suffer from dehydration and fatigue. Jessie also hallucinates a more self-assured version of herself, who explains things about her and Gerald that she never had the courage to acknowledge. The two hallucinations trigger her to remember the glass of water Gerald had left on the shelf above the bed, which she is able to reach; when she can't drink it, she rolls the shopping tag she'd torn from her slip into a

drinking straw A drinking straw is a utensil that is intended to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. Straws are commonly made from plastics but environmental concerns and new regulation have led to rise in reusable and biodegradable straws. These ...

to reach the water. Jessie falls asleep, wakes up in the dark, and sees a deformed obscured figure who reveals a bag of bones and trinkets. She refuses to believe the figure is real but Gerald says the figure is

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

waiting to take her. Gerald begins to call Jessie "Mouse", which triggers a memory of her father Tom, who affectionately referred to her as "Mouse." When she was 12, he had her sit on his lap while he masturbated to her during a solar eclipse. Gerald and Jessie number 2 taunt that she never recovered from the assault, and that she married a man just like her father. Gerald calls the deformed man "the man made of moonlight", and points out a bloody footprint on the floor, making Jessie realize the figure may have been real. Jessie remembers how her mother suspected her father but did nothing. She smashes the water glass, cuts her wrist, and peels back the skin, allowing her bloody hand to slip through the cuff. She is then able to reach the key and unlock her other hand. She bandages her wrist but passes out from blood loss and fatigue. When she awakes, the "man made of moonlight" is at the end of the hall. Delirious, she removes her wedding ring and gives it to him for his trinket bag before leaving. She makes it to her car and drives away but hallucinates the deformed figure again and crashes into a tree. People from a nearby house emerge to help. Six months later, Jessie is writing a letter to her 12-year-old self. She describes how she had pretended to have amnesia over the ordeal of being trapped, avoiding painful questions. She used some of Gerald's life insurance to start a foundation for victims of sexual abuse. But each night the "man made of moonlight" still appears before her as she falls asleep. She learned from the news about a serial killer with

acromegaly Acromegaly is a disorder that results from excess growth hormone (GH) after the growth plates have closed. The initial symptom is typically enlargement of the hands and feet. There may also be an enlargement of the forehead, jaw, and nose. Other ...

who digs up crypts, stealing bones and jewels, and has sex with and eats the faces of male corpses; this explains why he didn't harm Jessie in the house and why Gerald's face was disfigured. Jessie arrives at court as the moonlight man is being sentenced. He quotes what she said before leaving the house, indicating that he was in fact there at the time. Seeing Gerald and her father in him, she tells him, "You're so much smaller than I remember", and leaves triumphantly.

Cast

as Jessie Burlingame ** Chiara Aurelia as "Mouse" (Young Jessie) *

as Gerald Burlingame, Jessie's husband *

Carel Struycken Carel Struycken (; born 30 July 1948) is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the Giant/Fireman in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017), the occasional guest role of Mr. Homn in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1 ...

as "Moonlight Man" / Raymond Andrew Joubert *

Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...

as Tom, Jessie's father *

Kate Siegel Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel ( , born 9 August 1982), is an American actress and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films ''Oculus'' ...

as Sally, Jessie's mother * Adalyn Jones as Maddie, Jessie's sister * Bryce Harper as James, Jessie's brother

Production

Development

On May 19, 2014, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' reported that Mike Flanagan had been set to direct a film adaptation of

's suspense thriller novel ''

Gerald's Game ''Gerald's Game'' is a 1992 suspense novel by American writer Stephen King. The story is about a woman whose husband dies of a heart attack while she is handcuffed to a bed, and, following the subsequent realization that she is trapped with lit ...

'', scripted by Jeff Howard. Trevor Macy produced the film through

Intrepid Pictures Intrepid Pictures is an American independent film and television production company dedicated to producing elevated commercial content for global mainstream audiences. It was founded in 2004 by Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans, and is currently run ...

. In an interview with ''Rue Morgue'' in September 2016, Flanagan stated that the film adaptation would be released by

Casting

and

were cast to play Jessie and Gerald Burlingame, along with

, and Chiara Aurelia.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

on the film began on October 17, 2016, in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

Release

The film was released on September 29, 2017, by

. It has not been announced for a physical DVD or Bluray release.

Critical reception

''Gerald's Game'' received positive reviews. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The website's critics consensus states, "Carla Gugino carries ''Gerald's Game'' small-scale suspense with a career-defining performance." At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Stephen King called the film "hypnotic, horrifying and terrific" after watching the

rough cut In filmmaking, the rough cut is the second of three stages of offline editing. The term originates from the early days of filmmaking when film stock was physically cut and reassembled, but is still used to describe projects that are recorded and e ...

References

External links

* * {{Media based on Stephen King works 2017 films 2017 horror thriller films 2017 psychological thriller films 2010s English-language films 2010s erotic thriller films 2010s feminist films 2010s psychological horror films 2010s American films American erotic horror films American erotic thriller films American feminist films American horror thriller films American psychological horror films American psychological thriller films English-language Netflix original films Films about child sexual abuse Films based on American horror novels Films based on American thriller novels Films based on works by Stephen King Films directed by Mike Flanagan Films scored by the Newton Brothers Films shot in Mobile, Alabama Incest in film Intrepid Pictures films