Stephen King: Ranking His Films From Worst To Best

4. Misery

It shouldn't be too surprising to learn that Misery was inspired by King's meetings and correspondence with obsessive fans/borderline stalkers, and the adaptation is suitably disturbing as a result. James Caan stars as Paul Sheldon, a famed novelist who plans to kill off one of his most famous characters. Kathy Bates's Annie Wilks, who drags him from a car wreck and initially nurses him back to health, is distraught by the news, forcing him to return to the character she fell in love with. Misery is either the blackest of black comedies, or the most disturbing psychological drama Reiner and King have ever been involved with - let alone one that would wind up being a box office smash with almost universal critical acclaim. Even with the gore toned down from the original story, it's a brutal, uncompromising film.