Misery: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Misery: Collector's Edition

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
When most people think of Rob Reiner in the director’s chair, we think of lighthearted classics like The Princess Bride, or When Harry Met Sally, but the man has also had a penchant for making Stephen King books into films as well. His first attempt was the fantastic Stand By Me, which was unique in the fact that it was a coming of age story rather than your typical King horror, but it was an exquisitely made film nonetheless. Most of you know that Stephen King novels are hit or miss coming to the big screen (just look at the latest butchery of his famous Dark Tower novels that just came out), but overall there is usually positive reception to them. However, with Rob Reiner undertaking his first attempt at a horror/thriller novel of Kings, it was a bit up in the air as to how the end result would turn out. Luckily Misery turned out to be one of his best films to date (sorry The Princess Bride), actually garnered Kathy Bates an academy award for her portrayal of the evil villainess of the film.

Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a well known writer of romance novels, his most prolific being a series revolving around a young woman named Misery Chastaine. Sheldon has become dis-enamored with writing the Misery novels, even those those are the ones that have made him the wealthy man that he is today. Deciding to finish off Misery in his latest novel and continue on with other works, Paul heads off to his cabin in Colorado to finish up the work only to get sidelined by a snowstorm and crashes his car off an embankment. Waking up in a fog, Paul finds himself battered and bruised, under the loving care of a local nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). At first it seems like a godsend to be alive and under the care of a competent nurse, but things soon turn dark when Annie reveals herself to Paul’s biggest fan.

You see, Annie is obsessed with the Misery series of books, and her calm and kind demeanor turns crazed when she cuts loose on Paul for his new book being different than the typical ones he’s written so far. But when Annie finds out that Paul has killed off Misery in his new manuscript that’s when things get out of hand. Annie’s loving care turns into a literal prison as the middle aged woman goes through what appears to be a breakdown, tying Paul to his bed and refusing to let him leave unless he writes a new Misery novel that will undue the “damage” that he caused in his latest manuscript. Keeping a weather out for an escape plan, Paul plays along with her delusions, slowly shuffling away the medication she gives him, and figures out a way to arm himself in case she tries something. But no matter how hard he tries, the conniving and crazed fan of his works blocks him at every turn. Slowly becoming more and more unhinged in the process.

Misery was a surprise hit back in 1990. Rob Reiner chose some good actors, and a good novel to adapt, but no one expected it to be the runaway hit that it was back then. I’ve watched the film about a dozen times over the years, and I still get creeped out by Kathy Baters performance as Annie Wilkes, and it turned out to be one of the best horror films of the decade. The book isn’t particularly bloody either, but the film is deliciously creepy, with a slow and stead pace to the tension instead of devolving into the blood and gore slasher genre that dominated the 80s and early 90s horror landscape back then. The tone is simply eerie and unnerving as Annie slowly lulls the author into a state of complacency before going off the deep end and shocking the audience (and her captive) with the level of unhinged delusion that lies just underneath the surface. Even though we know she’s crazy as a loon early on, it’s not revealed just how deep that rabbit hole goes until the onion layers are peeled back to reveal her true nature bit by bit throughout the story.

James Caan is excellent as always, but what REALLY makes the movie so much better than expected is Kathy Bates performance as Annie. She rightfully won an academy award that year for her performance and you can see why. Bates has this knack of being able to switch from light and happy, to depressed to unhinged at a moments notice. Even when she’s completely devoid of sanity there are different levels of crazy that she portrays with Annie showing the outward signs of a lunatic in one scene, to be completely straight laced and serious the next (even when she’s just babbling straight lunacy at the same time). Her character is unnerving and disturbing to the core, as she makes it seem so natural and easy to be this crazy, allowing not a bit of it seep through to the outside world except for being eccentric. It’s this sense of unease and fear of how she’ll react that makes the audiences nervousness and fear of her all the more believable too. In this way, Bates made the quintessential evil house mom villain, and made it as iconic as male counterparts like Norman Bates.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




Video:

Misery was announced to have a full 4K remaster done for this Scream Factory release, and the benefits do show compared to the 2009 MGM disc that has been out for the last 8 years. Now, Misery already had a really great looking transfer from MGM, but the 4K remaster just pushes it a little bit higher, with a tighter grain structure and some mild improvements in detail across the board. Watch the snow when Scott Caan throws it across the yard into the tree. Little fluffs of powder is a little more defined, and facial details seem a hair sharper. Luckily (or unluckily?), the MGM disc was already fantastic, so the improvements are not night and day, but the clarity is razor sharp and the colors warm and inviting. Shadow detail is excellent across the board, and general detailing is impeccable. The only thing really “lacking” is some of the blacks do show a flicker of banding and a few scenes are mildly crushed. Other than that, this is a great looking transfer that just edges out the old MGM disc for an upgrade.





Audio:

Scream Factory follows their traditional pattern of supplying a 5.1 DTS-HD MA theatrical mix, as well as a 2.0 DTS-HD MA track for night listening. I rather enjoy the 5.1 mix a bit more than the 2.0 mix, but either one will suit you well considering that Misery is a rather front heavy mix, which is rather typical of dialog centric dramas like this one. Dialog is crisp and clean, locked up front in the center channel, while most of Paul’s escape attempts and other ambient activity plays well in two mains. The surrounds are wildly utilized, as I previously mentioned, but there are several moments of boisterous activity that kick them up a bit (mainly the car crash at the beginning, or the sounds of the search helicopter overhead as the Sheriff searches for the writer). LFE is mostly constrained to those instances as well, but does add some low end punch to the tense score as Paul desperately searches for a way out.





Extras:

• NEW Interview With Director Rob Reiner
• NEW Interview With Special Makeup Effects Artist Greg Nicotero
• Audio Commentary With Rob Reiner
• Audio Commentary With Screenwriter William Goldman
• "Misery Loves Company" Featurette. Includes interviews with Reiner, actress Kathy Bates, actor James Caan, actress Frances Sternhagen and more.
• "Marc Shaiman's Musical Misery Tour" Featurette
• "Diagnosing Annie Wilkes" Featurette
• "Advice For The Stalked" Featurette
• "Profile Of A Stalker" Featurette
• "Celebrity Stalkers" Featurette
• "Anti-Stalking Laws" Featurette
• Theatrical Trailers

Final Score: ​

The 90s wasn’t known for having the BEST horror films (we can thank the 80s for that), but Misery stands out as truly one of the best horror thrillers of the early 90s. Kathy Bates performance is simple mesmerizing as she slowly slips deeper and deeper into her insanity, and James Caan gives an amazing secondary performance as well. It’s tense, creepy, and incredibly sickening to watch despite the fact that it didn’t play to the blood and gore style that had permeated the horror landscape during the last decade. Scream Factory’s new remaster looks great, on top of an already great looking MGM disc, and the new extras are a blast to chew through. While I LOVE the movie, and LOVE what Scream has done with the disc, upgrading will depend on how much you want the best presentation available, as the MGM disc was no slouch in its own right. However, for those of you who never picked up the disc, its a no brainer as the Scream Factory collector’s edition is easily the most inclusive package out there to date. Highly recommended.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Written by: Stephen King (Novel), William Goldman (Screenplay)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 28th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I loved the movie.. Great movie.

 

[Asere]

I have the dvd I think stashed away somewhere. I really enjoyed this film and I think Kathy Bates is awesome in this film and with any role really as she is a great actress.