After a long history about dealing with the supernatural horror with haunted hotels, resurrected murderous kids, telekinetic prom queens, possesed cars and killer clowns from other dimensions, we get from the master of Horror a heavily isolated movie that's scarier than all things mentioned above.When we think of survival horror we often think in zombie movies or post apocaliptic films in which the character have to survive a force of great evil. This one whoever fits in the genre in the most unusual of ways, isolating the protagonist in a cabin inside the a situation that is almost ironically funny, and making the evil force a psychotic nurse in whose our main lead's life depends.Is a thrill ride from start to finish that only gets heartbumping every minute. We cannot ignore Kathy Bates's amazing performance as the emotionally unstable Annie Wilkes. From the moment she is on screen we learn that something is not right with her, is then when the film starts pumping when we know she can jump from loving careful mother to murderous psychopath displaying a master class in acting.Thrilling and unsettlingly realistic.

Movie psychos come in all shapes and sizes: the villain of Misery is nurse Annie Wilkes, who proves just as frightening as a lumbering Jason Vorhees or a relentless Michael Myers thanks to an outstanding turn by Kathy Bates, who deservedly won an Oscar for her memorable performance. Godfather star James Caan ably plays the victim of the piece, successful romantic novelist Paul Sheldon, who finds himself being cared for by the nurse after she drags him from a car wreck during a blizzard. Wilkes claims to be Sheldon's number one fan, but her treatment of the bed-ridden author takes a decidedly sinister turn after she reads his latest book, Misery's Child, in which he kills off Misery Chastain, the heroine of his best-selling series. Unable to accept the fictional death, Wilkes insists that Sheldon writes a new novel in which Misery returns, and does everything within her power to keep him captive until he finishes, after which she hatches murderous plans.With Bates and Caan on top form, and future Oscar nominee director Rob Reiner calling the shots, Misery, adapted from Stephen King's bestseller of the same name, is a tense, character-driven thriller that rarely puts a foot wrong. Wilkes' sudden rage coupled with Sheldon's helplessness makes for nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat action. Reiner skillfully cranks up the tension, early outbursts merely hinting at the nurse's madness, but as matters progress, the degree of Wilkes' insanity becomes more and more obvious, the woman finally going full-on nutzoid when she realises that Sheldon has been leaving his room: wielding a sledgehammer, she administers a procedure called hobbling that is guaranteed to have viewers squirming in their seats.An exciting climax sees local sheriff Buster (Richard Farnsworth) finally putting two and two together and paying Annie a visit while a drugged Sheldon tries desperately to draw the cop's attention from the cellar. This being an early '90s movie, it takes a few attempts to kill Wilkes, the woman only biting the big one after several well-crafted jump scares (corny, but a whole lot of fun). Easily one of the best Stephen King adaptations, Misery is a must for fans of the author and of horror in general.

Kathy Bates deserved that oscar, great film adaptation of Stephen King's book even if there were differences, I think they adjusted well.That bi-polar Annie Wilkes character was played realistically and amazingly by Kathy Bates, while James Caan's character is still more underplayed, he still managed to pull off a few of those most desperate moments.Supporting characters were good too, very chilling/disturbing moments mainly done by the psychological projection of those characters and scenes - hardly any physical visual scenes needed (apart from the one or two max of the infamous ones).

(Originally reviewed: 27/03/2017) A very good horror picture with a chilling blend of suspense and atmosphere. It's well set, and mostly thrilling, Kathy Bates and James Caan give strong performances and Rob Reiner's direction is excellent; this is perhaps one of the best horror films of the 90's.