Misery Review

 

        The 90s can be seen as the either the near death and rebirth of the horror genre. Franchises that had multiple sequels in the prior decade was withering away in mediocrity. While Wes Craven can be credited for reviving the genre to new levels, Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Misery kicked off the decade and is considered one of the best Stephen King adaptations. 

1. Celebrity’s Worst Nightmare

        Like most things in my life, I was exposed to this movie via an episode of Family Guy. Misery was the second adaptation in the episode dedicated to King. It only makes sense to do a review of The Shawshank Redemption later down the line. Anyways, the film is basic in terms of overall story progression. 

        We follow Paul Sheldon, an accomplished writer known for writing his successful line of books about the character Misery. He suffers a car crash due to an out of nowhere snowstorm. Unbeknownst to him, he’s rescued by Annie, who promptly tells him that she’s a big fan of his work. I’ll talk about her in the next tab since she absolutely steals the show in the whole movie. 

        The film is like an heir apparent to an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It’s a thriller all the way, but it has that distinct level of horror that only Kathy Bates can pull off. The reason why the film works is that it’s like watching and waiting for the timber box to blow up due to the main antagonist. Again, we will talk about her and what she represents in the overall movie. 

        What makes the film a great thriller is the overall location. Of all places it takes place in a small town in Colorado. Specifically, a small cabin house that is nowhere near civilization. It makes the situation even more dreadful, due in part that it seems that the main villain really thought every possible way to isolate herself. 

        James Caan does a good job of portraying the handicapped author. We understand his problem that he wants to try something different and shed his affiliation with his Misery titles. It makes him more relatable, considering that for someone that is creative wants to branch out. The best moment is when he tries to get on Annie’s good side, all the while trying ways to escape and becoming defensive. 

2. Annie Wilkes

        She absolutely deserved to win the Academy Award for Best Actress; Kathy Bates is probably the best performance for a Stephen King work. The best description to her is that she’s a ticking time bomb. Wilkes can border on being the sweetest person, due in part is that she’s a trained nurse and has appropriate bedside manners. Man, when she switches, it’s a terrifying thing. 

        Like I said earlier, the moments between her and Paul is an anxiety experience. We don’t know if she’ll switch or if Paul is doing enough to get the kind Wilkes to heal him. Additionally, she’s such a layered character where there’s moments where we feel sympathy for her. I think in one way it helps her become scarier since she can pull off the seemingly nice persona. A façade to let anyone’s guard down. 

        To me, she’s a perfect representation of the lament that most creatives go through. Especially the ones that have nutty fans. It’s that she’s a representation of brazen capitalism, and how she wants the only thing that she enjoys. The scene that best represents that is when she makes Paul burn a story that was supposed to be a new branch in his creativity. Which prompts Annie to force him to make a continuation of the thing that made him successful. In some way, the film is representative that King wanted to experiment with something else, even though the best thing about him is his work in horror. That’s besides the point. 

3. Overall

        Misery is one of the best Stephen King adaptations and the best horror-thrillers of the 90s.