This 8-Year-Old Stephen King Movie With 91% on Rotten Tomatoes Is Still 1 of Netflix’s Most Disturbing Movies Ever

The world of Stephen King adaptations continues to expand every year, with the most recent rendition of the horror master’s work, The Institute TV show, currently airing on MGM+. In addition, fans of these horror stories are eagerly awaiting the next installment of King’s It collection, It: Welcome to Derry, which will air in October 2025. Though there are a few major titles that even only casual fans of King know, there are some exceptional adaptations of his novels that still deserve recognition.

A few of these works, inspired by King’s writing, have been released on popular streaming services, but some, such as In the Tall Grass (2019), have not been positively received, placing them outside the radar of pop culture horror hits. Despite this, Gerald’s Game (2017), a Netflix Original, is a highly-rated King adaptation, defying the odds and overcoming immense obstacles to become one of the most disturbing versions of these horror stories. After nearly a decade, this film is still deserving of recognition when discussing the best of Stephen King’s on-screen universe.

Jessie Gets Stuck in an Impossible Situation

Image via Netflix

Gerald’s Game is a Netflix Original directed by horror master Mike Flanagan, adapting Stephen King’s novel of the same name, which follows a woman placed in an impossible situation. The beginning of the film sets up this daunting scenario, featuring a middle-aged couple, Jessie (Carla Gugino) and Gerald (Bruce Greenwood), who go to their remote lake house to rekindle the romance in their relationship. However, Jessie rejects Gerald when he tries to act out a sexual assault fantasy, resulting in an argument that leads to Gerald having a heart attack and dying on their bedroom floor.

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Unfortunately for Jessie, she has to cope with her husband’s sudden demise while being handcuffed to the bedposts and without any obvious way to free herself. As night falls, a stray dog Jessie previously fed outside walks into the door Gerald left open, chewing on the corpse as she watches helplessly. Later on, a strange figure in the shadows of the room, whom she dubs “Moonlight Man,” appears, making Jessie question whether what she’s seeing is real or if she has begun to hallucinate.

Jessie in Gerald’s Game seems like she’s in a horrible situation, stuck with dangers all around her and waiting to either be eaten by a hungry dog, killed by a mysterious stranger, or die of thirst and hunger. However, she uses her own wits to defy the odds, utilizing her surroundings and her determination to survive to keep herself alive. This would be a harrowing task for anyone, but it proves to be even more difficult for Jessie, who is alone with her thoughts and has to grapple with a terrible lifetime tragedy and trauma coming back to haunt her.

There Are So Many Villains in This Story

Gerald’s Game is one of King’s stories that doesn’t actually include any paranormal obstacles, despite how the Moonlight Man is initially perceived, but instead as the protagonist combating real-world monsters. King has created some terrifying monsters, but this adaptation of his work highlights how horrifying real people can be when they choose to do violent or abusive things. A major reason this movie is one of King’s most disturbing narratives is not just because of the situation Jessie is placed in, but due to the array of villains that appear within a couple of days.

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Jessie’s first villain is her husband, who tries to pressure her into an uncomfortable situation, leaving her distraught over his death but also outraged that his abusive behavior resulted in her having to fight for her life. As time goes on, and she begins to hallucinate, the audience also learns that Jessie was sexually abused by her father, adding another villain that is no longer alive in the present timeline but has influenced the main character in a way that traumatized her and led to her submissive position in her marriage. Both of these antagonists are dead when Jessie is trying to escape the handcuffs, but they haunt her, leading to an internal struggle on top of the physical one.

However, these horrible men in Jessie’s life do not detract from the physical threats in her current situation, resulting in an intense plot that features so many suspenseful scenes. The dog that continues to come back as Jessie tries to figure out how to escape is an obvious threat, and it’s even more horrifying that she fed the dog previously in the film, which likely kept it coming back. The most intense horror element in the narrative is the Moonlight Man, who appears with terrifying red-glowing eyes, further making the audience question if he’s a figment of Jessie’s imagination or a paranormal addition to the film.

The Psychological Aspect Isn’t Heavy-Handed

Gerald’s Game is not a novel that was thought to be easy to adapt, with many considering the movie unfilmable because most of the source material takes place in Jessie’s mind, making the storyline a daunting task for filmmakers. However, Mike Flanagan did the seemingly impossible and cohesively adapted this narrative, along with writer and producer Jeff Howard, who has worked with the other horror icon on memorable works such as the horror movie Oculus and the TV series Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House. They were able to take a psychological horror and add in elements that made it more appealing to an on-screen audience.

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Instead of diving into Jessie’s subconscious and limiting the visual allure of the horror film, the creators had the protagonist manifest people in her head who influence her journey. One of these people is an alternate version of herself, who speaks hard truths and urges Jessie not to give up on herself and to look at her life experiences to find a way to survive. In addition, she imagines her father and Gerald, who oppose her strong alter ego, making her internal struggle adamantly clear without relying on internalization and thereby increasing the dialogue in the movie.

By creating these characters who are either a part of Jessie’s mind or manifestations of her deceased abusers, the storyline embraces the psychological aspect of the overarching plot without making it feel heavy-handed. An issue with movies that focus on an individual grappling with their self-doubts and solo journeys is a lack of substance, which makes the story boring. Gerald’s Game does not fall under the pressure of a limited cast and lone main character, leaning on this concept and creating something that manages horrifying imagery without leaving the heart of the source material behind.

Gerald’s Game Has One of King’s Most Memorable Protagonists

The title of this film might include her husband’s name, but there’s no doubt that this narrative is about Jessie’s life journey, highlighting how the men in her life have forced her to fight to survive. While there are many incredible female heroes in Stephen King’s work who are icons, Jessie cannot be undervalued, as she supports an entire plot with her in-depth characterization. The overarching plot in Gerald’s Game is Jessie having to get out of her handcuffs before she follows her husband in death, but the true inspiration of this disturbing narrative is how she overcomes all her doubts and shortcomings to prove to herself she’s worthy of a happy and full life.

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In the final act of the film, Jessie has a physical wound to match her mental ones, having to deglove her hand to escape the handcuffs, but she has taken control of her life without anyone else telling her what to do, healing her own trauma and others by starting a foundation for abuse victims. She confronts one of her villains, the “Moonlight Man,” who turns out to be a serial killer and necrophiliac, Raymond Andrew Joubert, who watched her fight for survival while waiting for her to die. In the end, Jessie tells Joubert that he’s smaller than she remembers, highlighting how her journey made her stronger and bolder.

There are few creative minds that can make a storyline so disturbing but weave a narrative of perseverance and triumph, but Gerald’s Game proves to be an exceptionally unsettling movie that leaves viewers with a satisfying conclusion. Dozens of other titles are referenced before this film when discussing Stephen King’s most impactful adaptations, but there is a reason the critical and audience reviews remain overwhelmingly positive. For horror fans who love the thrill of a psychological story that balances visual and emotional appeal, this film is a must-watch.