Misery Star Kathy Bates Was Devastated Over the Movie’s Brutal Cut from Stephen King’s Book

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Summary

  • Kathy Bates wished for more gory elements in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.
  • The movie Misery kept the iconic ankle-breaking scene, but the book had a more gruesome foot amputation.
  • The director aimed to avoid horror, focusing on the movie as a prison film rather than falling into the horror genre.

Over the span of my reviewing career, I’ve witnessed numerous TV and film adaptations of Stephen King’s novels. While some have truly captivated the esteemed author, films like Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” didn’t resonate with him. In fact, King openly criticized the movie, arguing that it strayed too far from his novel, especially in its representation of Jack Torrance’s descent into insanity. Yet, it wasn’t only King who voiced displeasure over these changes; Kathy Bates, the star of “Misery,” has recently shared her own frustration with a significant alteration in the book that left her feeling “devastated”.

In Stephen King’s 1987 novel “Misery,” brought to life by director Rob Reiner and starring Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes and James Caan as Paul Sheldon, the story unfolds around Sheldon, who, after a car accident in a snowstorm, finds himself with broken legs in a secluded cabin tended by Annie. Claiming to be his biggest fan due to her love for his novels, she initially appears helpful. However, upon discovering and reading his latest manuscript, Annie becomes enraged when she learns that the lead character dies. She tells Sheldon that he’s isolated, unable to leave until he rewrites the book to her satisfaction. Throughout this ordeal, Sheldon endures inhumane treatment at the hands of Annie, with the abuse escalating when she smashes both his ankles with a sledgehammer to keep him confined to bed. The movie adaptation retained the famous ankle-breaking scene from King’s book; however, the novel contained an even more gruesome incident.

Kathy Bates Was “Crushed” That Misery Director Removed a Gory Detail From Stephen King’s Book

According to IndieWire, during the 16th annual TCM Classic Film Festival, Kathy Bates shared her disappointment about one major change in Misery. Specifically, she wished that the gruesome aspects from Stephen King’s book had been preserved in the movie. Speaking directly to director Rob Reiner, who was present, Bates expressed that she felt “deflated” upon learning that the scene involving Sheldon’s foot amputation and Annie running over a state trooper with a lawnmower would not be featured in the film.

“I was crushed that you took that out. I didn’t agree with that at all.”

In the classic novel “Misery” by Stephen King, Annie’s actions towards Paul Sheldon are more gruesome than what is depicted in the movie. Instead of breaking his ankles with a sledgehammer as seen on screen, she brutally amputates one of his feet with an ax and cauterizes the wound using a blow torch to prevent excessive bleeding, which would have led to his death.

Beyond making matters worse, Annie resorts to running over a state trooper with a lawnmower, who comes looking for Paul Sheldon. However, director Rob Reiner clarified during the panel that the film “Misery” should not be categorized as a horror or thriller movie, but rather a prison drama. He explained, “This isn’t a horror flick. This isn’t a suspenseful story. This is a tale of imprisonment, where this man must be as cunning as you to devise a plan for escape.

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2025-04-30 13:58