Jessie and her husband Gerald have gone for a weekend vacation to their remote lake house. Gerald starts a bondage game with real handcuffs, spreading Jessie's arms by chaining her to the bedposts under a small overhead shelf. Gerald starts to reveal some disturbing kinks with an unconsenting Jessie, understandably upset that this is what he now requires to be turned on, and then Gerald dies of a heart attack. Jessie starts to splinter, with it being unclear which of many factors (exhaustion, dehydration, fear, a hungry stray dog, or a terrifying figure who appears at night) is the biggest threat to her survival. As she is trapped alone with her fears, avatars of Gerald and herself speak for her, with the former being her self-doubt and fear, and the latter being her rational, stronger side. Jessie delves into her past trauma while trying to figure out how not to die on the bed. Has she emotionally survived her past? And can she physically and mentally survive her present?
The film feels like it could largely be staged as a play save for just those few factors (like requiring multiples of Jessie and Gerald and the gore) that would make a play less ideal as the medium. The cast and setting are pretty minimalist and there's a lot of time spent in the room wondering with Jessie how she can escape. As the film goes on, we learn more about her past and how it shaped her present and the film leaves the room, but as it's already indulged in psychological surrealism and it's a story about a woman trapped with her thoughts, it works. The way her past helps her examine her current setup to get out worked nicely. The acting is really well done, particularly with the range Carla Gugino displays as Jessie. She's kind, she's anxious, she's scared, and she's entirely believable in a moment of necessary agonizing mutilation in the impetus of her escape. She feels just as shaky and hesitant and brave as someone in that position would be. It's a nasty, unforgiving gore scene, so be prepared for that, but Gugino sells it and probably helps a lot in making it so hard to watch. It's notably hardcore for a film that's otherwise mostly a psychological drama and has had less upsetting gore previously.
The epilogue of the film is a little lengthy, and I think the nature of the monster Jessie sees in the dark, unpeeled, indulges in some unfortunate collisions of marginalization and evil. But Gugino may have been born for voiceover work, so hearing her narrate for so long wasn't unpleasant, and I appreciate the story giving her the grace to have a good amount of screentime beyond the bedroom with the handcuffs.
This is a vivid horror scenario that plays out with compelling stakes and character drama. Sometimes a story doesn't need much to be horrific and gripping.
Film Survival takes many forms.
Jessie and her husband Gerald have gone for a weekend vacation to their remote lake house. Gerald starts a bondage game with real handcuffs, spreading Jessie's arms by chaining her to the bedposts under a small overhead shelf. Gerald starts to reveal some disturbing kinks with an unconsenting Jessie, understandably upset that this is what he now requires to be turned on, and then Gerald dies of a heart attack. Jessie starts to splinter, with it being unclear which of many factors (exhaustion, dehydration, fear, a hungry stray dog, or a terrifying figure who appears at night) is the biggest threat to her survival. As she is trapped alone with her fears, avatars of Gerald and herself speak for her, with the former being her self-doubt and fear, and the latter being her rational, stronger side. Jessie delves into her past trauma while trying to figure out how not to die on the bed. Has she emotionally survived her past? And can she physically and mentally survive her present?
The film feels like it could largely be staged as a play save for just those few factors (like requiring multiples of Jessie and Gerald and the gore) that would make a play less ideal as the medium. The cast and setting are pretty minimalist and there's a lot of time spent in the room wondering with Jessie how she can escape. As the film goes on, we learn more about her past and how it shaped her present and the film leaves the room, but as it's already indulged in psychological surrealism and it's a story about a woman trapped with her thoughts, it works. The way her past helps her examine her current setup to get out worked nicely. The acting is really well done, particularly with the range Carla Gugino displays as Jessie. She's kind, she's anxious, she's scared, and she's entirely believable in a moment of necessary agonizing mutilation in the impetus of her escape. She feels just as shaky and hesitant and brave as someone in that position would be. It's a nasty, unforgiving gore scene, so be prepared for that, but Gugino sells it and probably helps a lot in making it so hard to watch. It's notably hardcore for a film that's otherwise mostly a psychological drama and has had less upsetting gore previously.
The epilogue of the film is a little lengthy, and I think the nature of the monster Jessie sees in the dark, unpeeled, indulges in some unfortunate collisions of marginalization and evil. But Gugino may have been born for voiceover work, so hearing her narrate for so long wasn't unpleasant, and I appreciate the story giving her the grace to have a good amount of screentime beyond the bedroom with the handcuffs.
This is a vivid horror scenario that plays out with compelling stakes and character drama. Sometimes a story doesn't need much to be horrific and gripping.