1.They Called It Hobbling Misery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueHC7pgfYGU Its a shame that Rob Reiner has made so many disappointing films lately; its caused people to forget what a great filmmaker he is. Hes provided us with a bunch of truly classic films, including A Few Good Men, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, The Sure Thing, and This is Spinal Tap, among others. Reiner has had particularly good luck adapting Stephen King; his adaptation of Kings novella The Body, Stand By Me, is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Equally wonderful, however, is his film version of Kings 1987 thriller, Misery. There are only two scenes in my history of film-watching that are actually difficult for me to watch: the latrine scene in Full Metal Jacket and this one. Both scenes are so powerful and shocking because both are so realistic. Therein lies Reiners talent as a director. Reiner has never made a film that hasnt felt real on an emotional level. When Reiner turns that ability to making comedies or dramas, he produces films that induce warm laughs, tears, and thought-provoking moments. When Reiner turns that talent to horror, he produces scenes that can cause even the most jaded of audiences to cringe and even cause some people to lose control of their bodily functions. This scene falls into the latter category. Misery revolves around a romance novelist, Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who has a car accident on his way from a hotel in Colorado. Paul is saved from death by a nurse, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in an amazing performance), who happens to be Sheldons number-one fan. Unfortunately for Paul, his biggest fan is also insane. Wilkes takes Paul prisoner in her home, forcing him to write another novel just for her. Paul has no wish to comply with Annies demands, but Annie has ways of getting what she wants. One day, while Annie is out of the house, Paul escapes from his room and tries to make contact with the outside world. His attempts are fruitless, but he returns to his room, hoping for a chance to escape somewhere down the road. Unfortunately, Paul has unknowingly left a clue behind which indicates that hes been roaming the house. Annie picks up on said clue and decides to make sure that Paul will never leave his room again. After a nap one day, Paul wakes up to find himself strapped to his bed and Annie standing over him. Annie tells Paul that she knows Pauls been out and about, and she intends to do something about it. Shes decided to take a page from the owners of the Kimberly diamond mines and perform an operation known as hobbling. Annie places a railroad tie between Pauls feet and picks up a sledgehammer. Paul realizes whats about to happen and begs for mercy, but Annies in no mood to listen to such pleas. She swings the hammer at Pauls left ankle, shattering it. As Paul screams, Annie does the same to Pauls right ankle. The thing that makes this scene so painful is Reiners unflinching depiction of the scene. The camera stares unemotionally as Annie swings the sledgehammer back and connects with Pauls ankle. We hear the bone crunch and the foot wrap itself around the tie, bending at an angle that human feet were never meant to bend at. Its shocking to watch because the camera seems to be bored by it, showing us these disturbing images as if theyre the most normal things in the world. Incidentally, in Kings original novel, this scene unfolds in a strikingly different way; instead of breaking Pauls ankles, Annie cuts off Pauls feet. Originally, our scene was supposed to be in the film just as it appeared in the book. Fortunately for all of us, wiser heads prevailed. A straight-on film adaptation of Kings original scene might have sent legions of audience members to padded rooms. Well, WhatCulture readers, there you have it: ten horror scenes that deserve more acclaim than theyve been getting. Have I left any worthy scenes out? Disagree with my final decisions? Do you just want to praise me? Have at it!
Alan Howell
Contributor
Alan Howell is a native of Southern California. He loves movies of any and all kinds, Hollywood, indie, and everywhere in between. He loves pizza, sitcoms, rock and pop music, surfing, baseball, reading, and girls (not necessarily in that order).
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