Gerald’s Game

You ever have really low expectations for a movie from watching trailers and advertisements only to be pleasantly surprised when you step out of the theater. If you haven’t, then you probably need to see more Hollywood movies or go outside more to see some advertisements. In any case, Gerald’s Game was a film that kept me on the edge of my bed frame for a majority of the film. I appreciated its direction, ending, and even its major theme points, but let’s dive a little bit deeper into it.

In an attempt to spice up their flailing relationship, Jessie and Gerald drive to a secluded home in the woods and plan to have one of those 50 Shades of Grey nights. Our main character, Jessie, feels uncomfortable before it all goes down and Gerald, after handcuffing Jessie, falls dead from a heart attack. A huge coincidence for a set-up, but we’ll let it slide since it’s just the set-up and it’s a movie. She is then stuck to a bed-post plagued with hallucinations of previous trauma, a supposed ghoul, and taunts from her currently dead lover. Oh, also there’s a dog!

I expected the movie to basically be an escape room with cheap hallucination tricks. While I was close to being right, it’s a lot more than what I expected it to be. Much of the uncertainty in the film stems from the fact that you weren’t sure if Jessie was hallucinating some scenes or not. Throughout the movie, she technically has internal dialogue, however, it is shown as her observing two projections of herself and Gerald. She is passive during these scenes; merely observing and not taking action. What’s interesting is that she develops this projection of herself arguing with imaginary Gerald instead of just talking to him herself. I would have preferred to watch the latter as a viewer, but if the writer intended to show how helpless and on the brink of insanity this ‘cuffed Jessie is watching herself argue with another figment of her imagination, then I get it.

Although her obvious and most immediate problem is getting out of those hand-cuffs, she is clearly dealing with something much bigger than that. She is trying to relinquish herself from the metaphorical prison of her father’s abuse and manipulation. It’s almost as if the entire film was the culmination and the “explosion” of her trauma that she was putting aside prior to the film’s time. Death, manipulation, and dog were waiting to submit her, but she would not succumb and literally shed all of the trauma (you’ll get what I mean when you watch) in an attempt to escape. A gruesome part of the movie. Not for those with a weak stomach, or maybe even those with a strong one.

That brings me to my next point. The imagery of the movie was phenomenal. Through this imagery is where you were allowed to categorize this as a horror film. Some scenes were absolutely terrifying in just a few frames. It felt much like a Stephen King novel. His voice is so distinct. I would say 2/3rds of the film is psychological thriller, where 1/3 of it is plain frightening horror.

It also brought me to the point where I had no idea where the movie was headed at all. Obviously, she was going to escape or die there in that queen-sized bed, but the entire final act felt different. It felt like it would have been a great read, but instead, it was a great watch. It did feel tacked on at first, but I bought in after about a minute of the “twist”.

Gerald’s Game was a fun watch. I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute banger of a movie that you need to rush to go watch, but it was interesting enough to watch on a rainy night like mine. It’ll toy with your mind psychologically until you wish you have a key to freedom as well as Jessie.

6.5 / 10

Best,

Frank Chiem