Review Date: October 2nd, 2022

Hi everyone. To kickstart off of the Spooky Season of this year, This is my review on Misery (1990).

A Great Psychological Horror/Thriller where a writer gets into a car accident, & his biggest fan rescues him, & gives him some treatment. But he begins to realize that the care he receives is the beginning of a hellish nightmare of captivity & abuse. Time for the review.

CAST:

James Caan - Paul Sheldon

Kathy Bates - Annie Wilkes

⚠️ WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!! ⚠️

A famous writer named Paul Sheldon is the author of a great series of Victorian-Era romance novels, featuring a character named…

Misery Chastain

Wanting to focus on more serious stories, he writes a manuscript for a new novel that he hopes will launch his post-Misery career. On his way back home from Silver Creek, to New York City, Paul is caught in a snowstorm, & gets into a car crash, rendering him unconscious. Then, a nurse named Annie Wilkes finds him, rescues him, brings him to her private residence.

Shortly after, Paul regains consciousness, & finds himself bedridden with broken legs & a dislocated shoulder. Annie claims to be his…

Number 1 Fan! (I’m your Number 1 Fan)

& talks about him & his novels. She offers to look after him until the telephone lines are re-connected & the local roads re-open after the snowstorm.

Out of gratitude, Paul lets her read his new manuscript. She is bothered by the profanity in his latest book, disturbing him. But he apologizes.

When she reads the latest Misery novel &

discovers that Misery passed away at the end, she throws a tantrum, revealing to Paul that nobody knows where he is & that she had never informed any kind of authority or his agent that she had rescued him, holding him prisoner in her home effectively.

Sometime after, Annie forces Paul to burn the only copy of his new manuscript. But as soon as he is well enough to get out of bed, she forces him to begin writing a new novel titled…

Misery's Return

In which he brings the character back to life. 1 day, when Annie is away, Paul begins to stockpile his painkillers. He even tried to poison Annie during dinner, by spiking her wine with crushed painkillers. But fails after she accidentally knocks over her glass. Then, he later finds a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about Annie's past. She was on trial for the deaths of several infants in the hospital where she had worked. But the trial collapsed, due to lack of evidence. She even quoted lines from his Misery novels during her trial as well.

When Annie discovers that Paul has been sneaking out of his room. She breaks his ankles with a sledgehammer to prevent him from escaping again, hobbling him. 🔨

The Hobbling scene from Misery (1990) is my favorite part of the movie. It’s an awesome scene. Here it is:

WARNING:

THE HOBBLING SCENE FROM MISERY (1990) CAN BE VERY DISTURBING TO SOME PEOPLE!

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

⚠️

Oh Boy! When my parents were together, the Hobbling scene used to gross the daylights out of my Mom. But let’s talk no further about that scene. Back to the movie.

The local sheriff is investigating Paul's disappearance. The clues of his disappearance him to Annie’s home for a visit. But she fatally shoots him when he finds Paul drugged in the basement. Then, she attempts to kill Paul in a murder-suicide. But Paul convinces her to let him live long enough to finish the novel in order to give Misery back to the world, concealing a can of lighter fluid in his pocket.

When the manuscript is finished, Paul asks for a cigarette & champagne, to which Annie complies. Then, he sets the manuscript on fire. As Annie rushes to save it, Paul strikes her with the typewriter & they engage in a violent struggle, with Paul suffering a gunshot wound to the shoulder from her revolver. 1st, He trips her, causing her to hit her head on the typewriter. Next, he crawls out of the room. But Annie attacks him again. Finally, Paul grabs a metal doorstop, & bashes her in the face, finally killing her.

18 months later, Paul is now walking with a cane, & meets Marcia (Paul’s Agent) in a restaurant in New York City. The 2 discuss his 1st post-Misery novel, & Marcia tells him about the positive early buzz. Paul replies that he wrote the novel for himself as a way to cope with the horrors of his captivity. Marcia asks if he would consider a non-fiction book about his captivity. But Paul declines, as he is still suffering from the psychological trauma of the experiences.

Then, he sees Annie approaching him, only to realize that he is hallucinating. In reality, the figure that he sees is a waitress, who tells Paul that she is his number 1 fan, causing him to meekly reply…

That’s very sweet of you.

THE END

Misery (1990) is 1 of my Favorite Thrillers of all time! The best part in the movie is the Hobbling scene. Even though it’s not a gory scene though.

OVERALL: 9.5/10 | End of Review

(Reason for +0.5 on Rating: Hobbling Scene)

Go to the Contact Section on my Website, & email me for Movie Review Requests, & or feedback. Also, Follow both my Facebook & my Instagram through Popcorn Office’s Contact Section as well.