9 Classic Stephen King Movie Villains Who Chill You To The Bone

2. Annie Wilkes - Misery (1990)

Misery features a much deserved Oscar winning turn from Kathy Bates. She plays the role of Annie Wilkes - a deranged and obsessed fan of writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who has a car crash near her home. Annie takes Paul in and tends to his injuries. At this point, she just seems like a sweet little ex-nurse, but it soon becomes clear Paul is unable to leave. Paul tries his best to escape, but his attempts are thwarted at every turn by Annie. Snooping one evening, he finds a bunch of news clippings from which he learns Annie was tried for the murders of several infants but the case collapsed due to lack of evidence. And things just get more gruesome from there. The AFI ranked Annie Wilkes as 17th in their list of Iconic Villains. This is a testament to Kathy Bates' acting skills but also a tribute to Stephen King's invention of an absolute monster. Psychologists have had terrific fun deconstructing the mind of Annie Wilkes, who apparently shows signs of psychopathy, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and schizoid traits as well. Bates did a great job portraying all of the many dark and disturbing aspects of Annie's character without hamming it up or going OTT, making Misery one of the best Stephen King adaptations.