Review of Misery (1990) by Harrison W — 11 Oct 2011

Stephen King and Rob Reiner. Both are icons in the entertainment world. And while Misery isn't the first time the two worked together--they worked together on 1986's Stand By Me--the combination of the two is something of an oddity. Reiner comes from a world of comedy. The famed director got his start in the landmark sitcom All in The Family. From there, he went on to work on such comedies as The Princess Bride, The Sure Thing, and When Harry met Sally. He also worked on some dramas in The Ghosts of Mississippi, and A Few Good Men. So to think of one of the masters of horror teaming up with one of the masters of comedy is a bit of a mind twister. Strangely enough, their partnership worked somehow. In turn, it made Misery into a horror/thriller for the ages.

So much could be said of Misery. But the key to the movie's success is its simplicity. The story, for starters is as simple as they come. Paul (James Caan) accidentally drives off of a snowy road, and is saved by an obsessed fan, in Annie (Kathy Bates). He then later discovers that Annie is a few sandwhiches short of a picnic. He also finds out she's got major anger management issues (cue the footage of Annie swinging the sledgehammer against Paul's legs). She's even somewhat homicidal (cue the scene of Paul going through the old newspaper clippings that Annie collected). So he has to figure out a way to get away from her, while she "cares" for him. That's pretty much the basis for the story. There are no other plot points that bog down the story. It's straight and to the point. In turn, it keeps the audience's attention with next to no effort. And for a movie that's nearly two hours long, that's saying something.

The story isn't the only thing that's simple in Misery. Because the story is so simple, so are the sets. The majority of the story takes place in just a couple of rooms in Annie's house. As much as one might think that so much simplicity would make writing the story difficult, it actually worked. It reminded audiences of how little Paul had to work with in his attempt to get away from Annie's clutches. Simply put, it shows that there are still some writers and directors follow the old k.i.s.s. adage. It proves that even in the modern age of film making less is more still works.

The simplicity of the story and the setting do plenty to keep the attention of viewers. But there's one more positive that makes Misery such a great horror/thriller. That factor is the level of violence and foul language. Yes, there is some blood and gore in this movie. So parents, this one isn't for the kids. Just a heads up. You'd do well to put them to bed before watching it. And while there is some foul language, even that's kept to a minimum. that being the case, most of the reason for the movie's "R" rating is the violence aspect.

Some people out there will argue that Misery isn't a horror movie. They'll argue that a movie can't be a horror without a crazed slasher with a knife killing some college co-eds. but the concept behind Misery is very real. John Hinkley, Jr. tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan to impress Jodie Foster. there's also the murders of singers Selena and John Lennon. Misery's story is similar to these real life instances. Being held captive by a homicidal, obsessed fan definitely classifies it as a horror, as much as people might want to argue that. And being that it's not the standard horror movie, that makes it deserving of the title of one of the best horror and Halloween movies of all time.