Excellent post, Skyla! Loved how you highlighted the underlying feelings faced in the book. To me, that’s one of the strongest parts of this one, maybe the medium changes but getting “rescued” by a super fan is still scary as hell, maybe even more now with “fame” being that much easier to achieve and “fans”being a login away.
Yes, exactly! Parasocial relationships are even more common now and that’s absolutely terrifying to think about. Annie Wilkes is just the personification of what happens when we let it culminate for too long. I remember how creeped out I was when reading the book for the first time… man, I love both the novel and film so much!
This movie absolutely chilled me! Great premise, great performances, great social commentary. Loved your tie in here of the dangerous combo of loneliness and parasocial relationships! Did you end up seeing the movie, Send Help that came out this year? Mega Misery vibes
It’s one of my favorite King movies/books! Honestly I always thought Annie was so scary because of how real she is… and no, I haven’t watched Send Help… but I’m going to add it to my watchlist now for sure 👀
This was excellent, Skyla. I loved how you use Annie to talk about toxic fandom, especially that shift from comfort to control. The whole idea that the obsessed need art to stay the same while the admirer can live with change is a great note to end on.
Thank you! It’s interesting because I been seeing a lot more recently… people are a lot more comfortable being controlling and pushing boundaries because of how the internet rarely had consequences. It’s interesting to wonder how a modern version of Misery could go!
okay!!! This was phenomenal as I felt I was a witness to a true crime recounting and this was better than any 20/20, Dateline or 48 Hours! And come to think of it Misery is definitely giving Obsession and Send Help vibes. (or rather vice versa).
A treatise on the state of society, loneliness, and how humans fill the gap ✔️
Bodice buster artwork ✔️
Thoughtful breakdown of the film ✔️
All neatly tied up in a considered, comprehensive (yet not sterile or too academic) bow? ✔️
10/10 no notes!!
Thank you so much!! I need to catch up on everybody else’s part in this wonderful King collab!
Excellent post, Skyla! Loved how you highlighted the underlying feelings faced in the book. To me, that’s one of the strongest parts of this one, maybe the medium changes but getting “rescued” by a super fan is still scary as hell, maybe even more now with “fame” being that much easier to achieve and “fans”being a login away.
Yes, exactly! Parasocial relationships are even more common now and that’s absolutely terrifying to think about. Annie Wilkes is just the personification of what happens when we let it culminate for too long. I remember how creeped out I was when reading the book for the first time… man, I love both the novel and film so much!
This movie absolutely chilled me! Great premise, great performances, great social commentary. Loved your tie in here of the dangerous combo of loneliness and parasocial relationships! Did you end up seeing the movie, Send Help that came out this year? Mega Misery vibes
It’s one of my favorite King movies/books! Honestly I always thought Annie was so scary because of how real she is… and no, I haven’t watched Send Help… but I’m going to add it to my watchlist now for sure 👀
Informative as it is chilling. This has me wondering if Misery would work even better in 2026.
Good point! Misery would definitely be interesting especially with modern tech and social media 🤔
This was excellent, Skyla. I loved how you use Annie to talk about toxic fandom, especially that shift from comfort to control. The whole idea that the obsessed need art to stay the same while the admirer can live with change is a great note to end on.
Thank you! It’s interesting because I been seeing a lot more recently… people are a lot more comfortable being controlling and pushing boundaries because of how the internet rarely had consequences. It’s interesting to wonder how a modern version of Misery could go!
okay!!! This was phenomenal as I felt I was a witness to a true crime recounting and this was better than any 20/20, Dateline or 48 Hours! And come to think of it Misery is definitely giving Obsession and Send Help vibes. (or rather vice versa).
Brilliant post. I liked how you equated where society is now with escapism and how it has always been there even back then.