Staff Book and Media Recommendations

Patrick Douglas is a Library Technician at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Misery

Based on the Stephen King novel, Misery is a dark, nail-biting (and sometimes humorous) look at celebrity worship. Author Paul Sheldon (James Caan), after finishing his final book in a popular historical romance series, leaves the isolated bed and breakfast where he had been staying to take the manuscript back to New York. On the way out of town, his car slides out of control in a blizzard and crashes well off the main road. He is saved by a local woman, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) who happens to be a nurse and his "number one fan." She takes him to her home, dresses his wounds, and begins the process of nursing him back to health, deceitfully promising to call his family and to get him to a hospital whenever the roads clear.

The bed-ridden writer can do little to remedy the situation or to confirm her assertions that she is the only one who can help him. When Annie claims that she found the manuscript in Paul's attaché, he agrees to let her read it. However, when Annie discovers that her favorite character, Misery Chastain, has been killed off in the novel, she becomes infuriated, holding Paul hostage until he re-writes the book. Paul must then bide his time and plot his escape even though he can't walk.

While not as fast-paced as many horror films, Misery creates a situation of dire threat and holds the tension until its resolution. There are no slashers, serial killers, or unearthly monsters, yet many call this the best horror film of all time. But what else would you expect from Stephen King?

Reviewed October 2011