Movie Review: GERALD’S GAME

I can say now with enthusiasm that I am a Mike Flanagan mark. He did DOCTOR SLEEP, and damn was that a rockin’ flick. He did THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. He did OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL and OCULUS. And he did GERALD’S GAME. He tends to cast the same actors over and over, just like he’s running a repertory company. That’s rare in Hollywood, although AMERICAN HORROR STORY has made it a touchstone. You see it a lot more in Theatre, as in, the stage. But then a lot of the actors in Flanagan’s works have backgrounds in Theatre.

Anyway, GERALD’S GAME. I bought a bootleg DVD off eBay, since I can’t livestream and missed this one when it first came out. After watching THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE I knew I had to see it. It’s fantastic. A nearly perfect cinematic adaptation of one of my favorite Stephen King novels. And can I just say that Carla Gugino is sooooo underrated. She’s got all kinds of the acting chops.

Note that I wrote “nearly” perfect. My one small complaint: I would have liked to have seen more of the Moonlight Man. The events from the book were by necessity condensed a little for the movie, but I missed the repeated visits of the silent stalker (portrayed most ably by the seven-foot-tall Carel Struycken, who plays the Giant in TWIN PEAKS and was also in DOCTOR SLEEP). At least they included plenty of the maneating dog.

By The Evil Cheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 MORTUI VELOCES SUNT!

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