Stephen King's Top-Rated Horror Masterpiece with 91% on RT Now Streaming on Max
It's the one you definitely shouldn't miss.
King has met many directors on the set, but it was the union of the King of Horror and Rob Reiner that was blessed not by the underworld, but by heaven.
And one of the results of such a union was Misery. It is the least superstitious and most ironic of the adaptations. Reiner electrifies the air and allows two incomparable characters to wrestle in front of the camera: James Caan and Kathy Bates. Routine turns terrifying, and caring turns deadly.
What Is Misery About?
Writer Paul Sheldon doesn't remember the heavy snowfall that caused him to crash his car somewhere in the mountains. He also doesn't remember being found by a woman who saved him from certain death. All he remembers is waking up in the house of Annie Wilkes, an avid fan of his novels.
Not wanting to part with her favorite author, she breaks his legs so he can't run away and forces Paul to create a new book, making him her own "pet" author. Cursing the teachers who taught him to write, he tries to regain his freedom by running away from Annie's house. But escaping the clutches of a cruel, maniacal fanatic isn't so easy.
King Created One of the Creepiest Characters in the Horror Genre
One of Stephen King 's greatest strengths is his exploration of how crazy people can be. You'd be hard pressed to find a more terrifying character than Annie Wilkes, played by Kathy Bates. The cruelty she's capable of to get what she wants is literally paralyzing.
Bates won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance, and the movie itself has long since become a horror classic. And if you've ever dreamed of a crowd of fans, the famous sledgehammer scene will change your mind.
Misery Is Based on the Author's Personal Experience
When Stephen King began writing Misery in the mid-1980s, he was no stranger to the problem of rabid fans. The book was published with a dedication to Stephanie Leonard, who worked as King's assistant for many years and sorted his mail.
A quarter of the fan mail and letters were the kind you wanted to stay away from. One time, King received a box of kitten skeletons. Another time, a live scorpion in a cage that the author's assistants had to feed until it died.
In 1979, King was approached by a young man in glasses who had stopped the writer after an appearance on a late-night show. The man wanted to take a Polaroid picture with King.
When the photo came out, King asked the fan's name. The man's full name was Mark David Chapman. Yes, the same Chapman who shot John Lennon a year later in 1980.
The encounter with Chapman and the subsequent realization that he was on the verge of death was only one of the many reasons that inspired King to write Misery. Another was the unflattering reception by fans of King's 1984 novel The Eyes of the Dragon.
The Eyes of the Dragon was an epic fantasy with almost no horror elements, and many of the author's fans perceived that publication as a betrayal, as an unwillingness to satisfy the demands of the most devoted fans who expect only scary stories from King. The author was furious that fans were trying to control his work and limit his inspiration.
Thus was born Misery, a nightmarish tale of a popular writer and one of King's finest works.
Where to Stream Misery?
Since October 1st you can watch Misery on Max.