Hooptober XII
2/35

Out of the Stephen King film adaptations I've seen, this certainly falls among the best of the best. The man is an expert at horror in the mundane. Even though I knew several of the major story beats going in, I was amazed by how claustrophobic and suspenseful Misery still turned out to be. I found it to be perfectly paced and was extremely uncomfortable as an audience member throughout.

The way the story applied layers suspense surrounding Paul's escape attempts was a masterclass in tension building. Paul's incremental progress—the bobby pin to unlock the door, the knife under the bed, the stockpiling of the pain meds—all for any progress made to be void by Annie intentionally or unintentionally thwarting his plans. I knew she wasn't going to drink that wine that Paul drugged but I still deflated, just as Paul did, when it spilt on the table.

And my god—as soon as that plank was placed between Paul's ankles I preemptively recoiled. But when they actually showed Annie whack his ankles with the mallet I audibly exclaimed. Based on the film up until that point, I expected them to cut away, not hold for impact. I respect it! And I absolutely hated it.

I additionally want to note how retroactively happy I am that Kathy Bates won the best actress Oscar because my god did she deserve it. The build from socially awkward obsessive fan to maniacal, unhinged stalker was done expertly, and she brought immense believability to Annie Wilkes, which the success of this adaptation heavily relied on.

I had been meaning to watch this for years and finally got around to it as a part of Hooptober 12 (1/4 novel adaptations). I enjoyed this so much it has inspired me to read the novel!