Director Mike (Oculus) Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s
novel plays like a cross between 50 Shades of Grey and Cujo. Instead of a woman being trapped in a car
surrounded by a hungry dog, it’s a woman handcuffed to her bed surrounded by a
hungry dog. References to King’s other works
abound (most notable being Dolores Claiborne as something bad happens during a
solar eclipse), which should make any King fan happy.
Jessie (Carla Gugino) and Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) are a
married couple who are stuck in a rut.
In an attempt to spice things up, they go to a secluded cabin in the
woods for some kinky sex. Gerald cuffs
her to the bed and almost immediately, things get a little rough. Too rough for Jessie in fact, and she demands
to be let out of the handcuffs. Before
Gerald can do that though, he has a heart attack and dies. If you thought being left alone in the middle
of nowhere while handcuffed to a bed was bad; it gets worse. Pretty soon, a famished stray dog starts
sniffing around the bedroom and begins feasting on what’s left of old Gerald,
and it’s only a matter of time before Jessie is next on the menu.
Flanagan does a good job at getting into Jessie’s
psyche. The scenes of her dead hubby walking
around the room and admonishing her for being “stupid” are a nice way to show
his psychological hold on her, even in death.
She even appears to herself as a stronger and more resilient Jessie who
tries to coach her into thinking of a way out of her predicament. Some of this is overly theatrical, but
Greenwood and Gugino are so on-point that it hardly matters.
Flanagan is adept at maintaining a crackling level of
suspense throughout the majority of the picture and gives us a handful of
intense moments along the way. There was
even a scene that made this old gorehound holler out in disgust. With that scene, Flanagan shows that he is
one of the best horror directors working in the field today.
The film only has one drawback, and it’s a bit of a big one,
especially when it comes down the homestretch.
The subplot about a serial killer/necrophiliac called “The Moonlight
Man” just feels like padding. While I
understand the necessity of the character, it just causes the ending to drag on
and on. Had Flanagan ended the whole
thing about eight minutes sooner, it would’ve been a wham-bam kick-to-the-gut
experience.
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