Novelist Paul Sheldon (Cann) crashes his car on a remote New England road and is rescued by friendly nurse Annie Wilkes (Bates). Coincidentally she is a big fan of his books and in particular, the heroine Misery Chastaine. Recuperating in her house, Sheldon soon realizes Annie is more than a little unhinged and effectively he becomes a prisoner.

Stephen King's literary adaptations are notoriously hit-or-miss. The success of Misery stems from the experience and talent involved. Director Rob Reiner had an exceptional run up to Misery, successive hits including Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally made him one of the hottest directors in Hollywood and gave him the power to pick his collaborators. Employing the talents of veterans like actor James Caan (The Godfather), Cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld (Miller's Crossing) and screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Reiner carefully composed a tense thriller, into which he injected Kathy Bates, the adrenalin shot to the film. She is magnificent as Sheldon's deranged super-fan and her impressive performance rightly earned her an Academy Award.

As with many of the genre's best examples, Misery doesn't assault the viewer prematurely. Instead, it carefully establishes the situation and then starts to build tension, making any act of violence seem all the more extreme and effective. The best example of this is the drastic measure Annie reasons must be taken to prevent Sheldon's escape. In King's book she removes his feet, but the alternative here is even more upsetting to witness.

Misery is my favorite Stephen King thriller. Misery displays a writer held hostage by his #1 fan. Misery is a spectacular movie because it keeps you wondering what will happen next. Kathy Bates' performance was the best and I'm glad she won an Oscar. Misery is one of King's real-life situation novels. I think that's what he's nest at, writing about real things. Yet, his horror books are still pretty scary and wild. Reiner impressed me with his direction in this film. Highly recommended

This movie is a good adaptation of the book, although a lot of the key psychological elements present in the book are lacking in the film. I highly recommend that anyone who has not seen the movie and wishes to reads the book first. Adversely, I recommend that those of you who have not read the book, but have seen the movie, read the book. There are pieces of the story missing in the film. In order to get the complete story, you should read the book and view the movie. Kathy Bates and James Caan are exceptional in the film. Good thriller for anyone wanting to see a scary movie. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to bone up on their scary movies.

This movie is an excellent adaptation from Stephen King's book with the same name. Acting is brilliant, however I missed some parts from the book. The actors and director could really get the image we had from Anne Wilkes and I believe there is no better actress to portrait this role. Great movie!