#154. Gerald's Game (2017)

  

Like a lot of Stephen King adaptations, the premise of Gerald's Game is really strong. Honestly, just the idea of having our protagonist handcuffed to a bed in a remote cabin for most of the runtime is inherently urgent and suspenseful (while also being simplistic and primal in a way that appeals to me), and the heavy use of hallucinations is a clever means of expositing some internal dialogue. Plus, it doesn't exactly hurt that Carla Gugino sells everything as well as she does.

 

Also like a lot of King adaptations, though, the execution is... flawed. Not bad, necessarily, but definitely sloppy. The flashbacks, for example, are appropriately dark and thematic, but they're also pretty blunt and heavy-handed in the way that flashback storytelling often is (while also being a total retread of Dolores Claiborne, right down to the use of the eclipse), and the Moonlight Man subplot, creepy as it was, seemed out of place, or at least incredibly underbaked, to me. Again, neither of these directions are terrible ones, but I feel like they're a bit of a letdown in relation to the setup.

 

I did kind of enjoy the unusual epilogue, however. Like, sure, it's rushed and tonally dissonant, but I also thought it was a creative, satisfying, and well-earned note to end on - especially after being subjected to that goddamn hand scene, which got an audible "Jesus Christ..." out of me.

 

Grade: B

#89. Sleepwalkers (1992)

 

 

By most accounts, this is one of the weaker Stephen King stories (I almost said "adaptations", but then I remembered that it was an original screenplay) in existence. And, yeah, I get it. Sleepwalkers is silly and dumb and not at all scary, and feels more like the kind of thing you'd catch on YTV on a Saturday night than a movie that got a wide theatrical release.

 

But, as someone who grew up loving Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, this kind of cheap, whimsical, distinctly early '90s horror works just fine for me. The concept of cat-like shapeshifters that can only be killed by actual cats is both ridiculous and really fun, and the unusually committed cast (particularly Alice Krige and Mädchen Amick) help to somewhat - somewhat - ground and legitimize this insane story.

 

Is it developed or tonally consistent? Not in the slightest (though both arguably add to the camp appeal). But it's also got a vibrant tone, a tumultuous teen romance, two cute leads, fun puppet effects, charming monster makeup, corny kills (even of the literal variety), and honest-to-god incest. So the universal derision is mostly lost on me.

 

Grade: B+

 

P.S. I can't hear that Enya song without expecting Lauryn Hill to tell me that she's gonna find me and take it slowly.

 

P.P.S. Considering he has the perfect face for these effects, it's honestly kinda shocking that Ron Perlman doesn't transform in this movie.

 

#1. Dolores Claiborne (1995)

 

 

I'm sure you're wondering why I decided to kick this journey off with Dolores Claiborne, of all things. Well, to answer your question, I'm planning on eventually writing about 10,000 movies, so why not start with Dolores Claiborne? It's just what I felt like watching last night, okay? Get off my back already!

 

Anyway, getting to the movie itself, this is definitely one of the more tender and thoughtful King adaptations I've seen. As a result, some of the trademark stylizations and theatrics and caricature supporting players feel a little out of place at times, but the compensation here is that the horror elements tend to be more down-to-earth and relatable (sexism, abuse, alcoholism, poverty). So while this isn't a particularly electrifying thriller, it's raw and resonant in all the ways it needs to be.

 

As for the storytelling, I'm tempted to say that the emphasis on flashbacks gets slightly tiresome after a while, but I suppose I can't knock the creative decision too hard, seeing as this is what allows the narrative to unfold in the most gripping and revealing way possible. It makes for a strong balance of melodrama and suspense, it gives the colour grading some variety, and it lets Kathy Bates shine with a subtler, more ambiguous performance than the one she gave in Misery.

 

Well, okay, maybe it's not that subtle. Those accents are something else.

 

Grade: B+