Review of Gerald's Game (2017) by Nairbyeldarb — 29 Sep 2017

Having also read the book this exceeded my expectations considerably. I would say it vastly outdoes IT in terms of a successful adaptation. IT was fantastic, I loved it and can't wait for Chapter Two, and I feel it definitely exceeded as a horror film based on a Stephen King novel, but was it a truly successful adaptation of the source material? I would say not- it's fine they cut some things because there's no way they could have included everything even from the kids' portion of the novel, but they changed around some things that they didn't have to like Mike's character and Patrick Hockstetter. This film however is a near perfect adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. Actually I wanna just go ahead and say perfect. It's been a long time since I've read the novel- honestly one of the scariest and most intense books I've ever read- but as much as I can remember it really nailed everything spot on from start to finish. Nothing is held back either as far as the disturbing content of the novel, unlike IT- while IT had some gore and brutal scares, there was still a lot left out that was too disturbing even for an R rated film. This movie however dares to push the envelope in ways you will not see coming and uses gore in such a way that will guarantee to make you squirm and cover your eyes and say "WTF" even if you're watching it alone. You've been warned, there is one scene in particular that I actually covered my eyes through and was literally rolling around on the couch and yelling at my cat "what in the actual f**k?!" And I've watched a looooot of gory horror films. This movie was genuinely creepy and gut wrenching, and packs an emotional punch too. The end has some pretty neat revelations also that are totally faithful to the novel, and there are plenty of easter eggs tucked in the film for SK fans. Anyone who has watched or read Dolores Claiborne in particular will make some connections.

10/10. Absolutely brilliant. If you felt that IT wasn't quite as scary as you were expecting, watch this. If this movie doesn't creep you out, deeply disturb you or make you cover your eyes in horror by the time it's done, I don't know what to tell ya.