She’s the Queen of comedy. The Dame of drama. And the hero of horror. Who else could we be talking about but Kathy Bates? Today, we celebrate one of the best actors of all time, because there’s no better day to do so than her birthday.
Most recently, Bates starred in the coming-of-age movie Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. But before this, she’s been making waves for years with killer performances (sometimes literally) on both the big screen and in the occasional TV series.
Whether it’s a vintage comedy movie like The Waterboy, or a touching drama movie such as Fried Green Tomatoes, or playing one the most despicable characters ever on the horror series American Horror Story, Bates has done it all. And done it with immense style.
So today, we figured we’d pay tribute to Kathy Bates in the only way we know how: by watching her best movie.
Misery (1990) is one of the most effective Stephen King adaptations to date, and strikes fear into the hearts of those who’ve seen it simply by thinking its name. When it comes to anxiety-inducting rides of terror, it doesn’t get much better than Misery.
It’s certainly the best Kathy Bates movie, in our opinion, but we also think it stands as one of the best horror movies ever made. Violent, claustrophobic, and completely unsettling, Misery is a wild ride that has each moment making you feel worse as it chugs along.
Misery is about a fictional writer (a favorite and frequent trait King likes to include in his stories) named Paul Sheldon, who finds himself in a car wreck along an abandoned stretch of land. He’s picked up by a lonely woman named Annie Wilkes, who just so happens to be a fan of his series of romance novels.
But when we say fan, we don’t mean ‘Oh, that’s nice, you have all my books!’ kind of way, we mean ‘I’m gonna smash up your bones and drive you to the furthest corners of living Hell’ megafan kind of way.
This role became one of Bates’ most well-known and highly-praised roles, and even won her an Oscar for Best Actress. (An achievement indeed, since we know how stingy the Academy can be with awards for horror movies!) Since then, she’s been nominated for a further three Oscars.
Misery is currently streaming on Hulu, so you best get to watching. For other scares, check out our lists of the best ghost movies and best zombie movies. You can also find out how Stephen King saved The Evil Dead franchise, and learn all about the Welcome to Derry release date.