There are some movie scenes that stick with you forever, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be something of the stomach-churning variety ripped right from a blood-soaked horror and forever seared into the brain. Well, in the case of Gerald’s Game it kind of is, and even six years on from its release it remains the single most horrific thing Netflix has ever created.
If you’ve seen Mike Flanagan’s acclaimed and unrelentingly atmospheric original that did the unthinkable by turning the Stephen King novel long deemed unfilmable into a masterclass in ratcheting up dread, tension, and sheer terror by the minute, then you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about.
Gerald’s Game isn’t even a particularly gory film, either, with the majority of its spine-tingling generated by a tour-de-force performance from Flanagan regular Carla Gugino, made all the more impressive by the fact she spends the overwhelming majority of the 103-minute running time handcuffed to a bed.
For anyone to have witnessed the scene in question firsthand, it’s impossible to get it out of your head, and the fact a Reddit thread has found users echoing the exact same sentiment so long after Gerald’s Game first premiered indicates that it won’t be disappearing from the collective consciousness anytime soon.
Even the hardiest of viewers have found themselves wincing at the mere thought of it, and it’s the sort of thing you don’t really want to have to witness twice in your life. If there’s one sign of an enduring Netflix exclusive, then long-lasting trauma based entirely on a brief moment is certainly one of the most unique barometers.