NOT Enjoying Gerald's Game

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prufrock21

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2011
2,956
12,657
The Caribbean
I re-read GG not long ago and enjoyed it much more than I had remembered. It is definitely a dark book but not because of the taboo scenario. Much like Cujo and Rose Madder there are dark undertones in the everyday lives of the characters. By far the best written and creepiest part of the book was the eclipse scene with her father. The wife also has a weird lack of emotion and resentment toward her dead husband. Things went off the rails a bit at the end but I don't want to spoil that.
The creepiest for me was the scene with the
collector of bones
.
 

bobledrew

Inveterate yammerer
May 13, 2010
2,782
1,924
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
I think GG is related to Dolores in another important way: I think that King sometimes sets himself challenges, not unlike Alfred Hitchcock. Not unlike Paul Sheldon's "Can you? Did he?"s. Can I write a novel that takes place in one room? Answer: Misery. Can I write a whole novel with just one character in a room? Answer: Gerald's Game. Can I write a novel that's almost all one monologue? Answer: Dolores.

GG is excruciating. But it has its rewards.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Same here. That was the only book that is hard for me to get through because of the subject matter. That thing is darker than dark. Bleak.

I don't know your gender but based on being around here for awhile, it seems that a lot of women have a very hard time with Geralds Game...except for Neesy of course lol. I can definitely see why. It would be all too easy to think about being in that predicament. It is a pretty dark book, but Pet Semetary for me is awful....not that it's a bad book, it's riveting..just not very nice.
Hey - it's not like I want to get tied up or something :hopelessness::icon_eek::a24::p
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Gerald's Game was indeed heavy. What I really enjoyed was how spooky scary it was. It's difficult to really scare me especially with a book but sK succeeded big big that time.
The actual 'degloving' etc. did not bother me, either - some people think part of this book are gross, but I have typed a lot of gross stuff from operative reports so it just sort of rolls off my back now.
 

Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
2,906
6,242
62
If I've learned anything in my long slog on this wet rock (and it's entirely possible I haven't), it's that the thing most people fear even more than they -- themselves -- realize, is being alone.

Jessie is alone.
And she's in trouble.
And that's scary.

Who remembers The Blair Witch Project?

"There's no one here to help you! There's no one here to help you!"
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
Who remembers The Blair Witch Project?

"There's no one here to help you! There's no one here to help you!"

Blair Witch is probably the greatest litmus test to find out what kind of horror movies you enjoy and what scares you. There is NO in between. You either think it is the most ridiculous movie ever or you really really like it. Myself, I found it infinitely creepy and enjoyable. Have seen it several times. I think the fact that the actors are complete unknowns and look like everyday people makes it even creepier. On the other hand I have run across numerous people who said, "Wait you actually liked that movie? It was 3 people walking around the woods doing nothing and seeing nothing." Which I get in a way, but I was personally freaked out.

Now conversely I recently watched a marathon of these Paranormal Activity movies on cable.....you know the ones that they always show clips of real people in the theater screaming in horror and spilling their popcorn everywhere because the movies are so terrifying? My God, I sat through 2 of them and I giggled steadily throughout both of them at how ridiculous they were. There was not a single moment in either of them that I found remotely scary. They seemed so contrived and silly that I viewed them almost as comedies.

As I've gotten older I have discovered how varied people are in terms of what scares them.

Hell, I have heard a few people in my lifetime say that they think The Exorcist is funny and not scary at all. Those people are instantly on my "watch list" as people that frighten me and who I give a very wide berth when they come around lol.
 

80sFan

Just one more chapter...
Jul 14, 2015
2,997
16,167
Pennsylvania
Hell, I have heard a few people in my lifetime say that they think The Exorcist is funny and not scary at all. Those people are instantly on my "watch list" as people that frighten me and who I give a very wide berth when they come around lol.

Lol, I'm one of these people
Actually, that's only half true. I didn't think "The Exorcist" was funny, but I wasn't frightened at all by the film.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Lol, I'm one of these people
Actually, that's only half true. I didn't think "The Exorcist" was funny, but I wasn't frightened at all by the film.
I was not frightened by the film either, but only because I had already read the book. (plus by the time you saw it, the special effects must have seemed pretty hokey by then!)
 

80sFan

Just one more chapter...
Jul 14, 2015
2,997
16,167
Pennsylvania
I was not frightened by the film either, but only because I had already read the book. (plus by the time you saw it, the special effects must have seemed pretty hokey by then!)

You're probably right, Neesy :)
I'm usually a huge scaredy cat and my hubby was trying to get me to watch it for years. The theme music itself scared me and I'd already seen a clip of the "pea soup" scene, so when I finally got up the courage to view the film, it didn't live up to the hype.
 

Shoesalesman

Well-Known Member
Aug 12, 2010
1,814
4,093
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Blair Witch is probably the greatest litmus test to find out what kind of horror movies you enjoy and what scares you. There is NO in between. You either think it is the most ridiculous movie ever or you really really like it. Myself, I found it infinitely creepy and enjoyable. Have seen it several times. I think the fact that the actors are complete unknowns and look like everyday people makes it even creepier. On the other hand I have run across numerous people who said, "Wait you actually liked that movie? It was 3 people walking around the woods doing nothing and seeing nothing." Which I get in a way, but I was personally freaked out.

Good comments here. I love BWP, find it to be right up my alley in terms of what I think horror movies should be; not seeing the source of the horror but instead staring directly at what it's doing to the victim. Best scenes are what you hear but don't see and the utter despair on the characters' faces. The movie would have been cheapened if they had actually showed a witch or menace or a physical form to the strife.

Anyway, back to the topic... I read Gerald's Game in college, thought it was pretty good, but not anything to write home about.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
82,822
47
United States
When I think of King books to which I had a visceral response, Gerald's Game comes to mind immediately. Misery, too, which was my initiation into the King universe. I experienced a similar feeling of anxiety with The Dark Half. Maybe it's akin to the gut-wrenching feeling of danger that you feel when sky diving or as a passenger in a runaway car down a curvy cliff road. Something kicks into gear while reading them. Here is an interesting video of a woman who makes a strong case for reading this book.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Blair Witch is probably the greatest litmus test to find out what kind of horror movies you enjoy and what scares you. There is NO in between. You either think it is the most ridiculous movie ever or you really really like it. Myself, I found it infinitely creepy and enjoyable. Have seen it several times. I think the fact that the actors are complete unknowns and look like everyday people makes it even creepier. On the other hand I have run across numerous people who said, "Wait you actually liked that movie? It was 3 people walking around the woods doing nothing and seeing nothing." Which I get in a way, but I was personally freaked out.

Now conversely I recently watched a marathon of these Paranormal Activity movies on cable.....you know the ones that they always show clips of real people in the theater screaming in horror and spilling their popcorn everywhere because the movies are so terrifying? My God, I sat through 2 of them and I giggled steadily throughout both of them at how ridiculous they were. There was not a single moment in either of them that I found remotely scary. They seemed so contrived and silly that I viewed them almost as comedies.

As I've gotten older I have discovered how varied people are in terms of what scares them.

Hell, I have heard a few people in my lifetime say that they think The Exorcist is funny and not scary at all. Those people are instantly on my "watch list" as people that frighten me and who I give a very wide berth when they come around lol.
When people I know say that they didn't think that TBWP was scary, my first question to them is: 'Have you ever camped out in the woods?' Usually the answer is 'No." and I tell them that's why it doesn't scare them, that they don't know what it's like to be out there in the dark with nothing but the campfire and tent......
 

Grace82

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2007
582
2,435
NC
GG is a hard novel for me to read and not one of my favorites (I cheated and just skipped to the last chapter). I'm more into the supernatural stories/movies (Demons, Ghosts, Things that go bump in the night) and tend to lean toward those types of SK novels (with the exception of Shawshank and Green Mile).

I'm firmly rooted in the " I dislike Blair Witch with a passion" team and I love The Exorcist. Pretty much if you want to get my ticket money, throw in a Catholic Priest, a bible verse, and a clock that always stops at 3am....I'm there with bells on!!

The problem with GG...at least to me, was the pace. I love King's attention to detail, but after 10 pages of it, I was more than ready for some action to occur.
 

Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
GG is a hard novel for me to read and not one of my favorites (I cheated and just skipped to the last chapter). I'm more into the supernatural stories/movies (Demons, Ghosts, Things that go bump in the night) and tend to lean toward those types of SK novels (with the exception of Shawshank and Green Mile).

I'm firmly rooted in the " I dislike Blair Witch with a passion" team and I love The Exorcist. Pretty much if you want to get my ticket money, throw in a Catholic Priest, a bible verse, and a clock that always stops at 3am....I'm there with bells on!!

The problem with GG...at least to me, was the pace. I love King's attention to detail, but after 10 pages of it, I was more than ready for some action to occur.
Blair Witch disliker here.

Well, the first half hour or so was very promising. About 15 in the woods and they lost me.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
Blair Witch disliker here.

Well, the first half hour or so was very promising. About 15 in the woods and they lost me.
blair-witch-procat_o_903811.jpg
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
When people I know say that they didn't think that TBWP was scary, my first question to them is: 'Have you ever camped out in the woods?' Usually the answer is 'No." and I tell them that's why it doesn't scare them, that they don't know what it's like to be out there in the dark with nothing but the campfire and tent......
I have never see The Blair Witch Project. I have never (and WILL NEVER) go camping. That said, from the first trailer I ever saw of TBWP I was put off. Pure silliness. Ooooo... scary "reality" movie. Give me a break. :facepalm_smiley:
But, that's just me. :confused:

I still love you like a brother though kingricefan! :D