A Netflix original film viewed on October 6th in Chicago. When this film became available on Netflix and I spotted during an extended period of looking for something to watch with my wife, I said something along the lines of, "a sexy thriller with Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwod , that could be interesting." It sat in the queue for a week or so until my wife got around to choosing it after looking for something to watch on a Friday. Suffice to say she informed me that it may not be the sexy thriller I thought. Apparently, the film is based on a Stephen King novel. Veteran horror film director Mike Flanagan, who also helped adapt the film to the screen, helms this picture.
Gugino and Greenwood go to an isolated home in the woods (Mistake Number One!) for some alone time to spice up their lackluster marriage. So Gerald seems to think that a little bondage will get things off to a nice start but Jessie isn't all that into it. While arguing on the bed, Gerald suffers a heart attack brought on by the viagra, perhaps if they were at a Marriott and not an isolated house in the woods. Oh and a stray dog enters the house and starts to get some good eats off of Gerald's corpse and naturally waits for Jessie to expire so he can gorge himself.
Jessie doesn't so much descend into madness as she jumps off a cliff into it. She hallucinates and has conversations with her dead husband. She even begins to hallucinate herself walking around freely and has three way conversations with herself and dead husband. These conversations eventually jogs her memory about some forgettable actions that help her survive the night. Jessie has flashbacks to her childhood that were discomforting for me to see. Jessie hallucinates/dreams about a disfigured man being in the room but Gerald points to a bloody footprint and says it's death coming for her.
A flashback of her cutting her hand gives her an idea of getting out of the cuffs. Jessie does the hold cut your hand to shred with broken glass to slip through a pair of cuffs. She manages to free herself and and bandage the wound but she passes out. She comes to and drives away but crashes the car as she's in no shape to drive. Fast forward to six months later and her life is almost back to normal, her had will never completely heal. There isn't too much commotion over how Gerald died. Research shows that the man that Jessie dreamed of in the room is actually a serial killer. Jessie visits the killer at his arraignment in Alabama and he of course recognizes her. This acts as closure.
This was a pretty interesting film. The pacing was fine but leaned a little toward the slow side, it was also about 8-10 minutes too long, but the plot was interesting enough that I didn't get bored. There would have been some parts that would have been weird but since it's based on a Stephen King novel, it makes sense. Gugino's performance was very good. I liked how she jumped into madness early but managed to get herself out. Freeing herself from not so much oppression but putting herself in bad situations.
The picture received an 89% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Flanagan does a very nice job with the tension and keeps things moving nicely. Bruce Greenwood gives another standout performance and even Henry Thomas gives a good performance as Jessie's creepy dad. The film is not for everyone but it's something worth watching. If you're a horror fan, keep an eye out for more of Flanagan's stuff. He does nice work. He creates good content and doesn't rely on gore or jump scares.
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