Candy and a Movie: Misery (October Movie 18)

Misery

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100157/

We have a first for this month. I’ve seen Misery before and that’s the only movie I can say that about for October. One of my life’s greatest regrets is seeing the ankle/hammer scene before the actual movie, ruining the surprise. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, stop reading this and watch the movie so it isn’t ruined for you too. Before I die, I want to watch this with someone who (whom) I have convinced that Misery is an inspirational tale about a writer bonding with the person nursing him back to health. They wouldn’t think it’s a horror movie at all. Movie time.

Paul Sheldon finishes writing his newest book and goes out for a drive during a blizzard in Colorado. His car flips off the road (of course) and he's rescued by his superfan (also a nurse) Annie Wilkes. Things are going pretty well. He's slowly recovering and Annie is keeping a good watch on him. Everything is normal until Annie reads some of Paul's new book and doesn't like the start. She yells at him like a crazy person and then tells him "I love you". We have ourselves a psychopathic horror movie now.

Annie completely loses it when she finishes the book and doesn't like that the main character dies. She changes the whole game by saying “no one knows you're here and you're mine now”. Some hostile stuff like that for the first time. Annie leaves and comes back, telling Paul that she just had a talk with God. He told her to change Paul's ways. Step one to that is burning his book on a grill right in front of him.

Annie loses it again when Paul says he doesn't like the paper she bought when she sets him up with a typewriter to try and have him write the story right this time. After a few tense scenes of Paul sneaking around the house and Annie raging, Paul finally writes a draft that is acceptable for her and they have dinner together where he tries to drug her. Unfortunately for Paul, the wine glass that he spiked is knocked over.

One night Annie is acting particularly crazy, takes a gun out, and leaves for a while. Paul does some more snooping around the house and finds out Annie has killed a fair share of people in her time. He grabs a knife, returns to his bed and waits to strike in the morning. That plan fails when Annie busts in during the night and injects him with something that knocks him out. He wakes up and is tied down to the bed. Moonlight sonata starts playing. Annie shows Paul the knife, which she found. She places a block between his legs, grabs a sledgehammer, and whacks both of his ankles, which breaks them. She called it "hobbling". When it's all over, Annie says "I love you" again and the scene is over. So good.

Sometime after all that happens, the town sheriff finally figures out its Annie who has abducted Paul. He shows up at Annie's farm, where she has just drugged Paul again and put him in the basement. The sheriff and her chat a little and eventually he goes off on his own to look around the house. Right as he's leaving, Paul makes a noise in the basement that alerts the sheriff. He opens the door, sees Paul and takes a shotgun blast to the back from Annie. Whammy. Annie tells Paul it's now time that they die together. Paul responds with reminding her that the book isn't finished and she snaps out of murder/suicide mode.

Paul finishes the book and burns it right in front of Annie, which sets her off. They have a big fight with Paul getting shot in the shoulder and Annie getting tiger palmed in the nose. I would love to punch Kathy Bates in the face. I don't have anything against her, just want to. She falls onto the corner of the typewriter and is knocked out. You think it's finally over but Annie attacks once more only to be finally killed when Paul beats her in the face with an iron (actually made of iron).

The final scene takes place 18 months later in New York. Paul is at lunch when Annie walks out as a waitress although it ends up just being a hallucination in his head. The random waitress lady tells him he's her biggest fan, continuing the creepiness. The end.

Rating: 7.7 I really like this movie. It’s definitely one of Stephen King’s better horror movies. I might have it #2 behind The Shining. Annie’s insane character and Kathy Bates acting makes the whole movie. Worth owning.

Favorite Scene: The hobbling is one of my favorite scenes all time, even if it was spoiled. The ominous music, the confusion what a wooden block is doing there and Annie’s calm demeanor are great. James Caan does a great job as Paul in it as well.

Memorable Lines:

What I would’ve done as the main character: Paul handles himself probably better than I would have. Hiding things inside the mattress? Pretty clever. Also I would’ve been bored out of my mind being stuck in that room. I’m pretty sure I’d be dead by the end is what I’m saying.

What happens in the sequel: I really like the ending idea continuing where Paul is still dramatized by what happened and sees Annie all of the place. Let’s have him get captured by Annie’s rival and he has to type on this new thing called a personal computer instead of a typewriter. She sticks with the original script and cuts Paul’s foot off with an axe instead of just breaking it.