ranked #3 out of 11 movies	rated 4.57 out of 5	total 47 votes

Misery

You better pray that I’m in a good mood. Because if I die, you die! (Annie Wilkes)

Year: 1990
Director: Rob Reiner
Screenplay: William Goldman
Actors: James Caan, Kathy Bates …
Runtime: 107 min


Buy the DVD “Misery” or the book “Misery” at amazon.com now!

Summary of Misery film plot

The famous author Paul Sheldon crashed his car in a winter storm in the mountains and is found by the nurse Annie Wilkes who takes care of him in her secluded country home. Annie happens to be the “number one fan” of Paul’s novel heroine Misery.

As Annie finds out that Misery dies in Paul’s next book she goes berserk. She takes Paul hostage and forces him to rewrite the novel.

Paul realizes that Annie is insane and that she is prepared to do anything to prevent “her” Misery from dying - and this includes chopping of some of Paul’s limbs and murdering a couple of police officers.

Main differences between film and the Stephen King book - Misery

• In Stephen King’s book, Annie cuts off Paul’s foot with an axe. In the film Annie gets his ankles broken with a sledgehammer.
• In the book Annie cuts off also his thumb, but this doesn’t happen in the movie.

What TheDarkKing thinks about the Misery film

Misery is a brilliant adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. The movie is close to the storyline with some additional parts, such as the character of the sherrif which only increase the viewer’s knowledge of the main characters.

The film is a suspenseful thriller, a drama and sometimes even a horror movie. It has all the right ingredients: a seemingly innocent place, the growing feeling that something isn’t right until a thrilling climax.

Kathy Bates, who won an Acadamy Award for this role, is amazing as Annie. She is able to switch moods so convincingly that you never know what will happen next when she’s entering the door. Will she bring some food or does she cut off another limb of Paul? Kathy Bates masters the difficulty to play a believable psychopath without being ridiculous for one single second.

The tension in Misery is comparable with Norman Bates’ Psycho. Kathy Bates is brilliantly mentally unstable! James Caan plays the injured writer very well and you can’t help but feel for him. The scene where Annie smashes Paul’s ancles is one of the best scenes in the movie, although it’s hard to watch.

Misery being no classic horror movie is still scary, creepy and extremely exciting.

After you watched this movie, you will think twice if you want to be famous and have thousands of fans. It could be that Annie Wilkes is among them as your number one fan.

If you’re now interested in watching the movie or reading the book, click on the following link to buy the DVD “Misery” or the book “Misery” at amazon.com!