History YMMV / Misery

** Annie breaking Paul's legs gets even more horrifying given then--13-year-old Thad Philip's 1995 ordeal at the hands of Joe Clark--kidnapped and held prisoner for 43 hours while Clark broke the bones in his legs. Philips finally escaped by throwing himself down the stairs and dragging himself to a phone, by which point he was within two hours of death from internal bleeding. He survived, but needed numerous surgeries and walks with a limp to this day. [[note]] And he was the ''lucky'' one--Clark ''murdered'' two other boys in this manner[[/note]]

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Quite a bit. While it's certainly possible that Annie has no computer or cell phone, this would make the cops more likely to investigate her farm first once they realize Paul Sheldon went missing nearby. After all, it's the only place where the owner likely wouldn't be able to call or message anyone. Also it's virtually impossible in today's world for a writer to have only one copy of any manuscript, even if he doesn't particularly like keeping copies. In fact, the entire idea of a writer mostly using a typewriter is hilariously outdated, and yet apparently it's Paul's preferred method, even though word processors and personal computers already existed when the story was written. While Annie did get her Royal from an antique store, almost any antique typewriter today would be unusable, and it would probably be cheaper for her to simply get him a laptop (even in the book, three keys are broken by the time the job is finished). Finally, today's romance novels are widely known as smutty potboilers written by guns-for-hire and read only by lonely middle-aged women, and it's pretty hard to become famous as a writer with them. Also they don't usually shy away from profanity anymore, meaning that they'd be less likely to be a favorite of a woman who prefers terms like "cockadoodie" and "dirty bird" and is offended by actual profanity.
** In the book, Paul theorizes that the reason Annie got away with her earlier murders is because she did them in different towns, and police departments weren't able to properly investigate her past doings. [[TechnologyMarchesOn Today, police departments have online databases]] that store all available information on a person's criminal activity, where and when it was done. Annie should have been placed in a prison or mental ward by her late teens.

* {{Narm}}: What little we see of Fast Cars ''really'' doesn't justify Paul's pride in it, especially if (admittedly a pretty big if) Annie is at all accurate about the dialogue being a constant ClusterFBomb. Possibly justified, as he ends up deciding it wasn't as good as he thought.

--> '''Annie Wilkes:''' I'm your number one fan....

* MoralEventHorizon: Annie was already a [[spoiler: serial killer]], but onscreen her [[spoiler: murder of the sheriff]].

* FridgeHorror: When reading through Annie's "Memory Lane" book, Paul finds out that she was married and then divorced by her husband, with Annie's writing on the divorce page showing that she was ''pissed'' about it. There's no clipping about the ex-husband meeting a nasty death afterwards, so it seems like the poor guy got away okay. Except that much earlier on, Annie refers to herself as a "poor ''widow''" and her MO has been shown to evolve to hiding bodies after she kills them, making it possible that she ''did'' kill him but his remains were never discovered and Paul simply didn't connect the dots.[[note]]Though it's also possible that Annie just pretends her husband died instead of divorced her, and it bears noting that Annie's book contains obituaries for ''all'' her other victims.[[/note]]

* CryForTheDevil: In addition to the movie-only TearJerker moment described below, there are a couple of scenes late in the novel where one ''almost'' forgets, if only for a moment, what a terrifying and terrible person Annie Wilkes is. In one, protagonist Paul Sheldon himself laments WhatCouldHaveBeen for Annie if she were not so deeply mentally ill after she shows him an unexpected moment of kindness. In another, Annie has something of a VillainousBreakdown after the press gets wind of her latest doings and pays her a visit, and for readers who share her anxiety for crowds it's a disturbing moment of empathy with an otherwise wholly unsympathetic character.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Quite a bit. While it's certainly possible that Annie has no computer or cell phone, this would make the cops more likely to investigate her farm first once they realize Paul Sheldon went missing nearby. After all, it's the only place where the owner likely wouldn't be able to call or message anyone. Also it's virtually impossible in today's world for a writer to have only one copy of any manuscript, even if he doesn't particularly like keeping copies. In fact, the entire idea of a writer mostly using a typewriter is hilariously outdated, and yet apparently it's Paul's preferred method, even though word processors and personal computers already existed when the story was written. While Annie did get her Royal from an antique store, almost any antique typewriter today would be unusable, and it would probably be cheaper for her to simply get him a laptop. Finally, today's romance novels are widely known as smutty potboilers written by guns-for-hire and read only by lonely middle-aged women, and it's pretty hard to become famous as a writer with them. Also they don't usually shy away from profanity anymore, meaning that they'd be less likely to be a favorite of a woman who prefers terms like "cockadoodie" and "dirty bird" and is offended by actual profanity.

** In the novel, Annie's complaints about the series' ScheduleSlip would be pretty familiar to fans of [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire a certain other book series]].

UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Quite a bit. While it's certainly possible that Annie has no computer or cell phone, this would make the cops more likely to investigate her farm first once they realize Paul Sheldon went missing nearby. After all, it's the only place where the owner likely wouldn't be able to call or message anyone. Also it's virtually impossible in today's world for a writer to have only one copy of any manuscript, even if he doesn't particularly like keeping copies. In fact, the entire idea of a writer mostly using a typewriter is hilariously outdated, and yet apparently it's Paul's preferred method, even though word processors and personal computers already existed when the story was written. While Annie did get her Royal from an antique store, almost any antique typewriter today would be unusable, and it would probably be cheaper for her to simply get him a laptop. Finally, today's romance novels are widely known as smutty potboilers written by guns-for-hire and read only by lonely middle-aged women, and it's pretty hard to become famous as a writer with them. Also they don't usually shy away from profanity anymore, meaning that they'd be less likely to be a favorite of a woman who prefers terms like "cockadoodie" and "dirty bird" and is offended by actual profanity.

* FridgeHorror: When reading through Annie's "Memory Lane" book, Paul finds out that she was married and then divorced by her husband, with Annie's writing on the divorce page showing that she was ''pissed'' about it. There's no clipping about the ex-husband meeting a nasty death afterwards, so it seems like the poor guy got away okay. Except that much earlier on, Annie refers to herself as a "poor ''widow''" and her MO has been shown to evolve to hiding bodies after she kills them, making it possible that she ''did'' kill him but his remains were never discovered and Paul simply didn't connect the dots.[[note]]Though it's also possible that Annie just pretends her husband died instead of divorced her.[[/note]]

* FridgeHorror: When reading through Annie's "Memory Lane" book, Paul finds out that she was married and then divorced by her husband, with Annie's writing on the divorce page showing that she was ''pissed'' about it. There's no clipping about the ex-husband meeting a nasty death afterwards, so it seems like the poor guy got away okay. Except that much earlier in the book, Annie refers to herself as a "poor ''widow''" and her MO has been shown to evolve to hiding bodies after she kills them, making it possible that she ''did'' kill him but his remains were never discovered and Paul simply didn't connect the dots.[[note]]Though it's also possible that Annie just pretends her husband died instead of divorced her.[[/note]]

* AwardSnub: Sure, Kathy Bates deserves all the praise she received for playing the terrifying Annie Wilkes, but James Caan gives a brilliant performance too, and yet got no nominations.

* TearJerker: The movie has a scene in which a depressed Annie opens up to Paul about her fear of him abandoning her. It's an unexpectedly humanizing moment for Annie, and both Kathy Bates and James Caan act it perfectly. Unfortunately, it quickly turns to NightmareFuel.

* HarsherInHindsight: Paul is in the middle of an ongoing series when he gets in a serious car accident before finishing it. King nearly died in 1999 after being hit by a van while writing the ''Dark Tower'' series.

** Two words: "[[{{Fingore}} Special candle.]]"

* NoYay: [[{{Yandere}} Annie Wilkes]] and Paul Sheldon, especially in the book. She's an ex-nurse LoonyFan of the disillusioned writer who saved him from a car crash and slowly nurses him back to health. It's eventually revealed that Annie has killed several of her patients, and her mood constantly swings between cheerful and psychotic. It culminates with Annie [[spoiler:amputating Paul's leg.]]

* HollywoodHomely: Annie played by Kathy Bates is a plump woman of average appearance, clean and carefully groomed. The character in the book has been described as very unattractive, a shapeless fat body, reeking of dirt and poor-quality cosmetics.

* TearJerker: The movie has a scene in which a depressed Annie opens up to Paul about her fear of him abandoning her. It's an unexpectedly humanizing moment for Annie, and both Annie Wilkes and James Caan act it perfectly. Unfortunately, it quickly turns to NightmareFuel.

* HorrorGhetto: Averted with Bates' AcademyAward.