With their first wave of films announced on Tuesday, Austin, Texas’ Fantastic Fest revealed that two Stephen King adaptations would be featuring in their lineup; Zak Hilditch’s adaptation of King’s novella 1922, and Netflix’s hotly-tipped Gerald’s Game. The announcement brought with it the first still from the latter, which is directed by genre favourite Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Hush).
Gerald’s Game is adapted from King’s 1992 novel, in which Jessie Burlingame is left handcuffed to her bed in an isolated lake house after her husband Gerald dies in the midst of one of his sex games. Alone and trapped, Jessie’s only company comes from a stray dog, her own darkest memories and imaginings and a dark figure in the corner who may or may not be real.
Carla Gugino (Watchmen, Sin City, The Unborn) leads the film as Jessie, with Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek, Super 8, Disturbing Behaviour) as her husband Gerald. Henry Thomas (Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gangs of New York), Carel Struycken (Men in Black), Kate Siegel (Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Oculus), and Chiara Aurelia (Big Sky, Pretty Little Liars) round out the cast.
There has been much discussion as to how Flanagan will approach the material, since so much of the book is told through various voices in Jessie’s head. My guess is that flashbacks will be a key storytelling device but either way, this promises to be one of the more unusual and ambitious King adaptations we’ve seen.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
