Stephen King's 1992 novel Gerald's Game is one of the author's more unconventionally creepy novels, and bringing it to life onscreen could be one of the more intriguingly challenging adaptations for a filmmaker. Mike Flanagan is up for the task, though, and Netflix has announced that filming begins on the movie version of Gerald's Game today in Alabama with a cast that includes Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, and  Kate Siegel.

Press Release: Netflix announced today that Carla Gugino (The Space Between Us, San Andreas, Watchmen) and Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek into Darkness, Star Trek) will star as ‘Jessie’ and ‘Gerald’ in Mike Flanagan’s (Universal’s upcoming Ouija: Origin of Evil, Hush, Oculus) Gerald’s Game for Intrepid Pictures.

Flanagan adapted the script with Jeff Howard (Oculus, I Know What You Did Last Summer) which is based on Stephen King’s 1992 suspense novel of the same name. Intrepid Pictures’ Trevor Macy will produce the thriller; which Netflix distribute exclusively worldwide.

Henry Thomas (Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gangs of New York), Carel Struycken (Men in Black), Kate Siegel (Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Oculus), Chiara Aurelia (“Agent Carter,” Big Sky, “Pretty Little Liars”) will round out the cast, with principal photography beginning today in and around Mobile, Alabama.

Gerald’s Game follows Gerald and Jessie Burlingame, who have gone to their summer home on a warm weekday in October for a romantic interlude. After being handcuffed to her bedposts, Jessie tires of her husband's games, until things take an unexpectedly tragic turn. Still handcuffed, she is trapped and alone. Painful memories from her childhood bedevil her. Her only company is a hungry stray dog and the voices that populate her mind. As night comes, she is unsure whether it is her imagination or if she has another companion: someone watching her from the corner of her dark bedroom.

Director Mike Flanagan said: “Gerald's Game has been my dream project for nearly twenty years. As a lifelong fan of Stephen King, it is a true honor to be trusted with this amazing material. I am deeply grateful to my long-time partner, Trevor Macy, and to my new partners at Netflix, for making this dream project a reality. This is one of the reasons I wanted to make movies in the first place.”

Gerald’s Game marks Macy and Flanagan’s fifth collaboration since 2013, following: Oculus and Before I Wake for Relativity; Hush for Netflix; and Ouija: Origin of Evil, which Universal Pictures will release on October 21st. Intrepid Pictures has produced fourteen feature films distributed worldwide by both major and Independent studios including Stacy Title’s The Bye Bye Man which STX Entertainment will release on January 13th.

King is one of the most renowned authors of contemporary horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television shows, and comic books.

Gugino is represented by CAA and Untitled Entertainment, Greenwood by the Gersh Agency, Thomas by The Gersh Agency and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Struycken by Jeffrey Leavitt Agency, Siegel by TCA/Jed Root and Nelson Davis, Aurelia by Paradigm Talent Agency, Flanagan by WME and King by Paradigm Talent Agency.

Intrepid Pictures is a feature film and television production company dedicated to producing elevated genre content for global mainstream audiences. Led by veteran trendsetting producer Trevor Macy, Intrepid has earned a reputation for developing material that pushes the boundaries of conventional storytelling to make films that transcend the formulaic and influence popular culture. Worldwide box office hit The Strangers from filmmaker Bryan Bertino, along with critically acclaimed Oculus and Hush from frequent Intrepid collaborator, director Mike Flanagan, exemplify this strategy.

Image above from a book cover courtesy of Amazon.

  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.