Stephen King's Misery Is Now Streaming For Free On Tubi
Stephen King's Oscar-Winning Horror Masterpiece Is Now Streaming For Free
Bee Delores is a Movies Writer for ScreenRant. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from West Virginia University, they went on to grad school for Entertainment Business at Full Sail University. From their extensive studies in branding, artist management, and business, they dove into the deep end of journalism and has landed countless bylines all over the internet. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, they also write for their own website, B-Sides & Badlands.
Stephen King is the mastermind behind some of horror's best contemporary stories. He follows a long lineage of authors who've changed the genre forever, from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to H.P. Lovecraft and Shirley Jackson. King's works have been adapted countless times over five decades, including with Mike Flanagan's blockbuster Carrie TV show for Prime. Misery, based on his 1987 book of the same name, remains his most nail-biting and tense tale about fan obsession and now finds its way onto streaming for free.
Alongside several other heart-pounding '90s classics like The Sixth Sense and The Silence of the Lambs, Misery remains a cut above the rest. The film also examines celebrity culture when paparazzi contributed to the voyeuristic nature of living in the public eye. The story follows an acclaimed author who finds himself the prisoner of an overly protective fan. Misery doesn't just explore the dynamic between artist and consumer, but the novel and film slither under the skin with its conversation about impulsive humanity.
Stephen King's Misery Is Now Available To Stream For Free On Tubi
Prolific director Rob Reiner directs the film version of Misery, now streaming for free on Tubi. Known for countless other career-defining films, including When Harry Met Sally, This is Spinal Tap, and another King story, Stand by Me, Reiner crafts a compelling and unnerving adaptation that brings the viewer directly into the action. With a script penned by William Goldman (The Stepford Wives, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), the film adheres fairly closely to the source material.
Misery comes at the height of the Stephen King film adaptation craze. The very first, Carrie, based on his 1976 novel, ignited Hollywood's obsession with his works. A tidal wave of reworkings followed throughout the 1980s and '90s. The decade between these films featured such classics as The Shining, Christine, Children of the Corn, and The Running Man. There never seemed to be a King story that couldn't be made for the silver screen. The '90s also brought The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.
Kathy Bates' Oscar-Winning Performance Makes Misery A King Classic
Nearly 40 years later, why Rob Reiner's Misery works as well as it does lies solely with Academy Award winner Kathy Bates. She dissects both the delusion and humanity of its central villain, Annie Wilkes, Paul Sheldon's (James Caan) number one fan. After Annie rescues Paul when his car crashes during a snowstorm, she nurses his injuries, but her obsession grows from loving his acclaimed Misery book series to loving every part of him. Bates discovers a way to pick the character apart into discrete pieces before putting them back together again, resulting in a vibrant, mind-blowing performance.
Some of her best scenes include the infamous sledgehammer scene, Annie expressing her undying adoration, the "cock-a-doodie" car moment, and the final confrontation. Her performance, wrought with painstaking care and emotional nuance, remains the perfect showcase for an empathetic villain. The fear and pain twist Paul's face into knots, naturally owing to Caan's commitment and presence at the given moment. You want a villain? Kathy Bates will give you a villain.
The Ultimate · Horror Quote Challenge Name That Horror Movie “They’re coming to get you, Barbara.”
☠1960s
🔪1970s
👻1980s
💀1990s
🎭2000s
01
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“I am your number one fan.”
✓ Correct! Annie Wilkes’s obsessive declaration to author Paul Sheldon in Misery — Kathy Bates won the Oscar for this role.
✗ Not quite — it’s Misery (1990). Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes delivers this line before things get very, very painful for her favorite author.
02
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“We all go a little mad sometimes.”
✓ Correct! Norman Bates’s unsettling confession in Hitchcock’s Psycho — the film that invented the slasher.
✗ Not quite — it’s Psycho (1960). Norman Bates delivers this chilling line to Marion Crane before the shower scene changes cinema forever.
03
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“Here’s Johnny!”
✓ Correct! Jack Nicholson’s terrifying ad-lib as he axes through the bathroom door in The Shining.
✗ Not quite — it’s The Shining (1980). Nicholson improvised this line while hacking through the door — Kubrick kept the cameras rolling.
04
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“They’re all gonna laugh at you!”
✓ Correct! Margaret White’s cruel warning to her daughter before prom night turns deadly in Carrie.
✗ Not quite — it’s Carrie (1976). Piper Laurie as Margaret White torments her telekinetic daughter with this prophetic warning.
05
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.”
✓ Correct! The eerie children’s jump-rope rhyme that haunts the dreams of Elm Street.
✗ Not quite — it’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). The nursery rhyme warning of Freddy Krueger’s arrival. All five are iconic slashers, but only one invades your dreams.
06
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“I want to play a game.”
✓ Correct! Jigsaw’s signature greeting, delivered through his puppet Billy in Saw.
✗ Not quite — it’s Saw (2004). The Jigsaw Killer’s chilling invitation before his victims face impossible choices.
07
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“It was the boogeyman.”
✓ Correct! Laurie Strode’s terrified whisper to Dr. Loomis after surviving Michael Myers in Halloween.
✗ Not quite — it’s Halloween (1978). Laurie Strode whispers this to Dr. Loomis, who replies: “As a matter of fact, it was.”
08
Which horror movie features this iconic line?
“It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.”
✓ Correct! Buffalo Bill’s skin-crawling command to his captive in The Silence of the Lambs.
✗ Not quite — it’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Buffalo Bill delivers this disturbing line from his basement. All five films feature serial killers, but only one has this scene.
The Body Count Your Survival Score
💀
/ 8
Did you survive the horror quiz?
It's no surprise that Bates took home Best Actress at the 63rd Academy Awards. That year, she faced off against four incredible powerhouse performers: Anjelica Houston (The Grifters), Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman), Meryl Streep (Postcards from the Edge) and Joann Woodward (Mr. & Mrs. Bridge).
During her acceptance speech, Bates admitted she had "waited a long time to say that," referencing thanking the Academy voters. In 1991, she'd already been working for two decades in TV and film. Her dedication to the craft led to the biggest moment of her career. "I would like to thank Jimmy Caan and apologize for the ankles," she later quipped. "And I would like to say that I really am your #1 fan, Jimmy.
- Release Date
- November 30, 1990
- Runtime
- 107 minutes
- Director
- Rob Reiner
- Writers
- William Goldman, Stephen King
- Producers
- Andrew Scheinman
-
Annie Wilkes
-
Paul Sheldon
Misery follows bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon, who is rescued from a car accident by his self-proclaimed number one fan, Annie Wilkes. When Annie learns Paul plans to kill off her favorite character in his latest novel, she refuses to let him leave, trapping him in her secluded home and forcing him to rewrite the story under increasingly terrifying conditions.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.