Misery

The next time you're about to view "American Horror Story" or anything else with actress Kathy Bates where she constantly chews the scenery, go back and rewatch Shout Factory's newest retro Blu-ray release. "Misery" gets the loving Collector's Edition treatment under the Scream Factory imprint and improves upon every home entertainment release of the still-relevant 1990 thriller.

Bates rightfully won the Academy Award for Best Actress and, at the time, had never carried an entire film before. "Misery" came along and solidified her place in Hollywood, but many other things made the Stephen King film adaptation a success. James Caan, who plays famous novelist Paul Sheldon, shines as the kidnapped writer that get tormented by Annie Wilkes (Bates). The cat-and-mouse games that ensue between the two characters are still breathtaking to watch.

And let's not forget that infamous sequence involving number one fan Annie as she destroys Paul's feet with a sledgehammer... this very scene had me and the entire audience squirming during its original run in the movie theater.

As is most often the case, Shout Factory fills its "Misery" Blu-ray with a ton of bonus content. Sadly, none of the actors appears in the segments. And a whopping seven featurettes come from other releases, most featuring bizarre examinations of how a stalker operates and the anti-stalking laws used to protect celebrities and others.

Rob Reiner's interview segment is both informative and exhausting, where the former "All in the Family" actor takes a look back at his TV and movie career. He also discusses the hiring process of both Bates and Caan and how different their acting methods were. Reiner does a more extensive audio commentary, too.

"Diagnosing Annie Wilkes" takes a renowned psychologist and interviews him, where he breaks down all of the personality traits of Kathy Bates' mentally disturbed character. It explains a lot of what's going on in "Misery" and helps to prove that the film will always be a classic in its genre.

"Misery"
Blu-ray
$29.93
www.shoutfactory.com