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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
To all the writers out there in the world. DO NOT WATCH MISERY! I’m looking at you, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, and George R.R. Martin. It is one thing to be a fan of an author. Hell, it is even okay of being a super fan of an author. Stephen Colbert is a superfan of the Lord of the Rings series. Yet, do you ever think anyone has ever thought about kidnapping them for the purpose of a book? I can see Stephen Colbert doing it to J. R. R. Tolkien. It would probably be quite entertaining to see that. Misery is a phenomenal movie that explores when a SUPERFAN helps her all-time favorite author from a car crash only to be bat-shit crazy and wanting a brand-new book of her all-time favorite character, Misery. An appropriate name as the author’s life is about to become very miserable. This is the Kathy Bates crazy movie!
Paul Sheldon (Caan) is the famed author of a successful series of Victorian romance novels featuring a character named Misery Chastain. Quite the name as the author is about to meet some real misery in his life. Sheldon tells his publisher that he wants to stop writing about Misery and focus on more serious writing. He writes the final manuscript for his character and wants to begin his post-Misery career. While traveling to his home in New York City, Sheldon is caught in a freak blizzard and crashes his car off the road. Paul is messed up from the car accident but is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Bates), who takes him back to her remote cabin to recover. As Sheldon recovers, Wilkes states that she is Paul’s “number one fan.” As time goes by, Sheldon soon realizes that Annie is entirely out of her mind when she learns that Sheldon killed off the heroine in her favorite novels. Sheldon is now trapped in a house with a crazed fan with no hope of escape.
This is the Kathy Bates crazy movie. Kathy Bates stole the whole film with how crazy she went. She went from 0 to 100 real quick. She is a person you do not want to deal with. Bates carries this movie with her craze look, actions, and overall mental stability of her character. As Annie Wilkes, Bates showed a genuinely obsessed person and a number one fan to a fault. I want to say this, homegirl lifted James Caan from the car on her back like a freakin wrestler. She be so strong!! Now she was cool until she read the final book and went INSANE. Who throws lighter fluid on someone’s bed as a threat? Also, homegirl went up and down with emotions as one minute she hated profanity and then snapped a few scenes later with some profanity. Caan’s face said it all with the look, “This bitch crazy!” You want to know how crazy and evil Annie Wilkes is? She was ranked #17 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains list. That list has some villains on that list, and to be ranked that high is something.
The story of this film is right out of Steven King’s book of the same name. King has stated that this is one of his favorite adaptations from his book. What makes this story and film so good is that the story could be very, very believable. There are people out there that are so obsessed they stalk their favorite author or obsessed over the person so much. They truly become insane. This movie shows how, when a fan saves her favorite author’s life and reads his final book, she goes to extreme lengths to keep him hostage. I mean, she held the dude for months in her cabin.
James Caan, as Paul Sheldon, was also great in this film. The fear he showed as Sheldon was authentic and worried. When homegirl poured lighter fluid on his bed as he recovered, he gave the “B***H! You Crazy!” look. I want to ask this? If you have lighter fluid on your bed and you threaten to burn the manuscript. Why the hell you light a match while you in bed? You could’ve burst into flames. Rookie mistake right there.
The one scene that showed how truly messed up this film was is the hobbling scene. My god, is that scene intense and crazy. Just thinking about it gives me chills and makes me want to gag because it is so intense. This is how a horror scene should be. Sometimes it’s not about the blood, guts, and gore. Sometimes it’s about setting up an atmosphere that will terrorize you because you know it could be true, and someone can actually do this. A prime example is Jaws, and the astrosphere Steven Spielberg set up with going to the beach with a shark attacking.
I want to also give some props to the director Rob Reiner. Sometimes, when making a horror movie, you forget some elements like the intensity of a scene, creating an environment that instills fear in people, or the surprise element. Well, Reiner perfectly set up a film that did all those things. The way the camera zoomed into Kathy Bates’ face as she gave a half-crazed look was special. The build-up between each character as one was obsessed, and the other trying to escape was something to watch.
Misery is one of those horror films that will send a slight chill down your back because of the characters. We all know someone who is obsessed with a certain actor, author, or whatever. The thing is, most of those people don’t go to the extreme. As a horror film, this is a well-done movie without the violence and more of the psychological effect. Bates and Caan are outstanding in their respective roles. Bates is something to watch in this film. Watch one of Stephen King’s novels come to life.
