Misery: Movie Review

For some reason, one of the first, if not the first, movie characters I remember distinctly is Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes. That crazy-face you see above is one that truly made a mark in my life. Now, a couple or so decades, I'm looking back at "Misery" and would like to find out why it actually stood out from the rest.

Novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is known for his romance novel series starring Misery Chastain. But even with all the success, the character has brought him, Sheldon wants to move on from his own creation and writes the final novel for the series. On his way back home with the final manuscript, Sheldon finds himself in a car crash. Waking up, he was fatefully rescued by a nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) who is also a fond fan of Misery. Out of gratitude, Sheldon reads the final manuscript to her but knowing Misery's final fate angers Wilkes and reveals her true colors - one that is truly terrifying.

"Misery" is a true blue horror classic. Even almost three decades from release, the adaptation, the acting, the atmosphere has aged well. There's no negatives for the film unless we nitpick. The story was natural, intruguing and builds upon the actual suspense that our main character Blake Sheldon finds himself in. It's one that may seem ridiculous at first but it actually turned out awesome. It also explains well why Sheldon was never missed even if he was a celebrity and why he himself had a hard time contacting the outside world. Several scenes really stood out but that foot break scene was something else. If you don't find yourself wincing at the minimum then you should probably talk to your psychologist right now. But the main pull for the film were the performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates. Now I understand why Bates as Wilkes, in particular, stuck with me through the years. She's truly terrifying in this film. "Misery" brings in a no-holds-barred psychological thriller and at that, there's no ghosts or monsters here. Only a person and her demented mind. That in particular srikes a chord and one that's scary in another level.

Rating: 5 reels





Why you should watch it:
- no monsters, no ghosts but this is one of the most terrifying films we've seen
- spectacular performances from the leads that truly deliver a monstrous experience

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- there's no reason not to see this