Misery (1990)
Directed by Rob Reiner
After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.
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11 films that influenced Misery
What critics say influenced Misery
The film ends up turning crudely vicious: It gets the audience cheering for Annie’s destruction in a way that recalls the garish climax of Fatal Attraction.
But now comes "Misery," King's black satire on celebrity worship, adapted by the very talented hands of two people who have never tackled horror before and maybe that's all to the good screenwriter William Goldman ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "All the President's Men," "Marathon Man") and director Rob Reiner ("This Is Spinal Tap!" "The Sure Thing," "When Harry Met Sally . .
Reiner has started with literary properties before - among them King's "Stand by Me" and William Goldman's " The Princess Bride " - but his strength is in putting a personal stamp on his films (which also include the cross-country romance " The Sure Thing " and the fake documentary " This is Spinal Tap ").
Reiner has started with literary properties before - among them King's "Stand by Me" and William Goldman's " The Princess Bride " - but his strength is in putting a personal stamp on his films (which also include the cross-country romance " The Sure Thing " and the fake documentary " This is Spinal Tap ").
When it was announced that Rob Reiner would direct the film version of Misery, King fans had reason to rejoice—especially in light of the wonderful job Reiner did turning King’s novella “The Body” into the smash hit Stand By Me.
His "Stand By Me," though it centered on a search for a corpse, was actually a nostalgic look at boyhood friendship.
Despite the inclusion of seemingly family-friendly names such as Rob Reiner (Stand by Me, The Princess Bride) and Kathy Bates (Fried Green Tomatoes, Primary Colors), you will find no warm fuzzy moments in this film as the story is filled with physical and emotional torture (including one of the most wince-worthy moments of film.
As he did with Stand by Me (1986), director Rob Reiner builds Stephen King's tale with clean, effortless strokes.
Horror fans looking for cinematic shocks à la Carrie and The Dead Zone might have trouble with Misery, but those with more subtle tastes should enjoy its sinister, low-key tone.
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The flame-throwing kid from Firestarter or the haunted car in Christine can’t compare with Misery’s mutilating, psychopathic ex-nurse, Annie Wilkes.
Horror fans looking for cinematic shocks à la Carrie and The Dead Zone might have trouble with Misery, but those with more subtle tastes should enjoy its sinister, low-key tone.
The flame-throwing kid from Firestarter or the haunted car in Christine can’t compare with Misery’s mutilating, psychopathic ex-nurse, Annie Wilkes.
But now comes "Misery," King's black satire on celebrity worship, adapted by the very talented hands of two people who have never tackled horror before and maybe that's all to the good screenwriter William Goldman ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "All the President's Men," "Marathon Man") and director Rob Reiner ("This Is Spinal Tap!" "The Sure Thing," "When Harry Met Sally . .
Then William Goldman, one of Hollywood’s most admired novelist/screenwriters (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man) was hired to do the screenplay, virtually nixing the possibility of a crummy script ruining the film (as it has in other King projects).
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As the movie's wheelchair-bound hero, Caan is not exactly Daniel Day-Lewis ("My Left Foot"), but his snide, cynical demeanor is a perfect counterpoint to Bates' literal-minded Annie.
Reiner has started with literary properties before - among them King's "Stand by Me" and William Goldman's " The Princess Bride " - but his strength is in putting a personal stamp on his films (which also include the cross-country romance " The Sure Thing " and the fake documentary " This is Spinal Tap ").
Despite the inclusion of seemingly family-friendly names such as Rob Reiner (Stand by Me, The Princess Bride) and Kathy Bates (Fried Green Tomatoes, Primary Colors), you will find no warm fuzzy moments in this film as the story is filled with physical and emotional torture (including one of the most wince-worthy moments of film.