Gerald's Game Review: 7 Ups & 2 Downs

4. It's Twisty & Psychologically Complex

With its lack of jump scares, (mostly) restrained approach to gore and lack of CGI monsters, the film derives most of its terror and intrigue from the psychology of the situation, which is clever, nuanced and deeply disturbing.

For one, the film examines the nature of marriage, love and sex in near-satirical fashion, but far more prominently, it explores Jessie's problematic youth through a series of incredibly unpleasant flashbacks.

Though these sequences could easily have been hopelessly simplistic, they actually inform Jessie's current scenario in a genuinely interesting way.

And that's without mentioning all of Jessie's hallucinations, seeing both herself and Gerald talking to her as she remains chained to the bed. It's all totally bonkers, but it slots together extremely well and never feels too ridiculous or daft for its own good.