Paul Sheldon is the successful writer of Victorian era Romances featuring his heroine Misery Chastain. He has just finished writing his novel Fast Cars when in a drunken state he goes driving in the snow and crashes. He is rescued by Annie Wilkes, an ex-nurse who lives nearby. She happens to be a really big fan of Sheldon's books - a massive fan, and rather than take him to hospital, she nurses him in her home. Paul has researched mental disorders and he knows Annie is deranged. When Annie finds out Misery is killed off because Sheldon wants to be a mainstream writer she is distraught. She forces Paul to write a book bringing Misery back to life. He knows she is capable of killing him, so he complies. When Annie is out of the house, Paul finds newspaper material suggesting Annie is a serial killer and killed several babies at the hospital she worked at. She was acquitted but it is enough to terrify Paul (and the reader). When Annie finds out he has been making excursions out of his room, she employs extreme and excruciating measures to keep him there. The two are pitted against each other in a battle to the death, for Annie will never voluntarily let Sheldon go. Intense violence follows and Sheldon manages to escape but due to the trauma he suffered at the hands of Annie, will he be able to live a normal life and resume his writing? Annie Wilkes is one of King's most hideous and frightening characters. Utterly deranged, she is one of the great unstoppable baddies of horror fiction. Like a jack in a box she keeps springing to life in a monstrous way. Will she ever die? And we know she is a homicidal maniac so there is considerable tension in the story as to which torture and torment she is going to mete out to Sheldon next. And there is also fright and tension in considering how Sheldon will ever extricate himself from Annie's grasp. The book is also scary when it comes to the repercussions of having been tortured and half crippled. Utterly gripping from the first page to the last sentence.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
Paul Sheldon is the successful writer of Victorian era Romances featuring his heroine Misery Chastain. He has just finished writing his novel Fast Cars when in a drunken state he goes driving in the snow and crashes. He is rescued by Annie Wilkes, an ex-nurse who lives nearby. She happens to be a really big fan of Sheldon's books - a massive fan, and rather than take him to hospital, she nurses him in her home. Paul has researched mental disorders and he knows Annie is deranged. When Annie finds out Misery is killed off because Sheldon wants to be a mainstream writer she is distraught. She forces Paul to write a book bringing Misery back to life. He knows she is capable of killing him, so he complies. When Annie is out of the house, Paul finds newspaper material suggesting Annie is a serial killer and killed several babies at the hospital she worked at. She was acquitted but it is enough to terrify Paul (and the reader). When Annie finds out he has been making excursions out of his room, she employs extreme and excruciating measures to keep him there. The two are pitted against each other in a battle to the death, for Annie will never voluntarily let Sheldon go. Intense violence follows and Sheldon manages to escape but due to the trauma he suffered at the hands of Annie, will he be able to live a normal life and resume his writing? Annie Wilkes is one of King's most hideous and frightening characters. Utterly deranged, she is one of the great unstoppable baddies of horror fiction. Like a jack in a box she keeps springing to life in a monstrous way. Will she ever die? And we know she is a homicidal maniac so there is considerable tension in the story as to which torture and torment she is going to mete out to Sheldon next. And there is also fright and tension in considering how Sheldon will ever extricate himself from Annie's grasp. The book is also scary when it comes to the repercussions of having been tortured and half crippled. Utterly gripping from the first page to the last sentence.