With the release of The Long Walk, an underrated Stephen King book has gotten the cinematic treatment it deserves. However, another acclaimed King adaptation remains sorely overlooked, despite having received critical acclaim: Geralds Game.

Directed by acclaimed horror director Mike Flanagan, Geralds Game follows Jessie (Carla Gugino) as she embarks on a romantic getaway with her husband, Gerald (Bruce Greenwood), finding herself handcuffed to a bed with little hope of escape after the latter dies of a heart attack.

Recommended Videos Despite being part of the modern resurgence of Stephen King adaptations that began in the 2010s, Geralds Game hasnt been as popular as movies like Carrie, It, or The Shining. This could be attributed to the source novel being one of Kings lesser-known books. Flanagan was also still building notoriety as a filmmaker when he made Geralds Game, which came out a year before he broke new ground with The Haunting of Hill House.

Geralds Game deserves greater attention from fans of King and horror in general. Flanagans movie is a masterwork of psychological terror that defied everyones expectations upon release. Even Flanagan himself, despite being a fan of Kings, said in an interview that he had considered Geralds Game unfilmable. Nevertheless, thanks to its incredible cast, writing, and terror, the movie has become one of the best and most underrated King adaptations in recent memory.

　　Geralds Game goes big with its small setting

Similar to Stephen Kings Misery, Geralds Game shows its protagonist confined to a single setting for much of the movie. However, it makes the most out of its limited cast and setting in extraordinary ways.

Geralds Game then transcends the confines of Jessies bedroom as her mind becomes the films setting. As she loses her strength and grip on reality, Jessie is forced to explore her past, unearthing her traumatic memory of being sexually assaulted by her father (Henry Thomas) as a child (Chiara Aurelia). She then realizes that, even years after the initial abuse, her subconscious continued to hold her prisoner as she married someone manipulative and abusive like her father.

Related: This Seth Rogen comedy is one of Netflixs underrated movies you need to watch (August 2025) Geralds Game thus becomes more than just a story of survival. It transforms into a deep character study exploring the effects of childhood abuse and repressed trauma on the human mind. Few films have explored these issues with such sincerity, nuance, and sensitivity, making Geralds Game a remarkable story from both King and Flanagan.

　　The movie is psychological horror at its best

Geralds Game is a slow-burning horror movie that doesnt rely on gore or jump scares in order to terrify viewers. While this likely didnt appeal to fans of more traditional horror movies, the film presents an unsettling, phantasmagoric journey into Jessies psyche that is a sight to behold.

Throughout Geralds Game, Jessie is tormented by surreal, unsettling images of a blood-red solar eclipse and the mysterious Moonlight Man (Carel Struycken), who watches her from the shadows with his box of bones, waiting for her encroaching death. For most of the film, it is unclear exactly what is real or what is in Jessies head. But that ambiguity hooks its audience as they wait to see if and how Jessie will escape.

Geralds Game doesnt shy away from presenting some extreme and shocking moments of bloody horror. From a dog gnawing at Geralds lifeless corpse to that gruesome and infamous de-gloving scene, such gory moments are especially intense, even for a Stephen King film, and are sure to make audiences cover their eyes.

Likewise, Geralds Game doesnt hold back in its exploration of the terror and nuances of sexual abuse. The films unflinching approach to such a sensitive matteris enough to make viewers squirm in their seats. Even today, its still a difficult topic for many to discuss and acknowledge, and the way Geralds Game captures that experience makes it even more intense.

Despite the daunting task of adapting Kings novel for film, Flanagan and his team defied the odds and pulled off a successful adaptation. With such a small cast and setting, Geralds Game presents a harrowing but empowering story of a woman overcoming her trauma and surviving sexual assault and almost certain death, making it a must-see motion picture even today.

Geralds Game is available to stream on Netflix.