About Misery
When famed author Paul Sheldon is in a car crash, Annie Wilkes who is a fan of his books, discovers him and brings him to her remote home to recuperate. However, it’s her discovery of Paul’s manuscript, which he had in the car with him and which details how he plans to kill off Annie’s favourite character, Misery, in the next book. Enraged, she’s determined to hold him captive until he rewrites the book.
Throughout the ordeal, Annie breaks both of Paul’s legs, kills a Sheriff investigating Paul’s disappearance and shoots Paul with a revolver. All before getting smashed in the head with a typewriter and then being bashed by a metal doorstop. Misery is a great example of how parasocial fandom can take the idea of being someone’s “number 1 fan” too far.
During a recent Misery re-watch it made me think about how obsession can drive someone insane. So I put together a few like Misery which demonstrate this all too well.
1. The Shining (1980)
In The Shining, Jack Torrance drags his family to the isolated Overlook Hotel for a winter caretaking gig, hoping to cure his writer’s block, only for the place to chew on his sanity like a haunted chew toy. As snow traps them in, the hotel’s restless spirits start messing with Jack’s mind – cryptic twins, rivers of blood, and a bartender who shouldn’t exist – while his psychic son Danny picks up every supernatural broadcast the Overlook is screaming into the void. Jack spirals from frustrated dad to axe-wielding nightmare, turning the hotel into a maze of dread as Wendy and Danny fight to escape before the Overlook claims them too.
2. Copycat (1995)
In Copycat, brilliant criminal psychologist Helen Hudson becomes a shut-in after surviving an attack by a serial killer, only to be dragged back into the nightmare when a new murderer starts re-enacting the greatest hits of infamous killers like a deranged true-crime mixtape. Teaming up with detectives M.J. Monahan and Reuben Goetz, Helen profiles the copycat from behind layers of anxiety, claustrophobia, and razor-sharp intuition, piecing together patterns while the killer treats her like his ultimate audience. As the murders escalate and the walls of her apartment feel more like a coffin than a refuge, Helen is forced to face her deepest fear and outmanoeuvre a predator who thinks he knows her mind better than she does.
3. Single White Female (1992)
In Single White Female, software designer Allison Jones thinks she’s found the perfect roommate in the quiet, needy Hedra – until Hedra starts mirroring her life like a broken funhouse reflection. What begins as roommate bonding curdles into obsession as Hedra copies Allison’s clothes, hair, habits, and even relationships, slowly trying to overwrite her like a corrupted identity patch. When Allison realizes her new roomie has a history of fixating on women and eliminating anyone who threatens the fantasy, the apartment turns into a psychological pressure cooker where trust evaporates and survival becomes the only boundary left.
4. Basic Instinct (1992)
In Basic Instinct, detective Nick Curran dives into a murder case soaked in sex, manipulation, and mind games when a rock star is found brutally killed and all signs point to Catherine Tramell – a seductive, razor-intelligent novelist whose books suspiciously echo real crimes. Nick gets pulled into Catherine’s gravitational field of danger and desire, blurring every professional boundary as she toys with him like he’s just another character in her next bestseller. As bodies drop and alibis twist, Nick spirals through a maze of suspects, setups, and psychological traps, never sure if Catherine is a puppet master, a scapegoat, or something far more lethal. The result is a noir thriller where lust fogs logic, and the truth always feels one tease out of reach.
5. Gone Girl (2014)
In Gone Girl, Nick Dunne’s life gets drop-kicked into a media circus when his wife Amy vanishes on their fifth anniversary, leaving behind a breadcrumb trail of blood, diary entries, and weaponised charm that paints him as the world’s most suspicious husband. While the public turns Nick into a tabloid chew toy, the truth unravels in a vicious twist: Amy has staged her own disappearance to frame him, crafting a revenge plot so meticulously deranged it could qualify as performance art. As her plan mutates and spirals, both Amy and Nick become locked in a toxic mind duel where manipulation is foreplay and survival means matching each other’s darkness beat for beat. The result is a marriage thriller dipped in venom, spectacle, and pure psychological chaos.
6. Secret Window (2004)
In Secret Window, burnt-out author Mort Rainey retreats to a lakeside cabin to nurse writer’s block and a messy divorce, only to get stalked by a menacing stranger named Shooter who accuses him of plagiarism and demands “justice.” What starts as a creepy confrontation spirals into arson, stalking, and a mounting body count as Mort’s grip on reality frays like a ripped manuscript margin. As Shooter’s threats twist tighter, Mort uncovers a truth far more unhinged than theft: the killer isn’t an intruder at all, but a murderous split in his own psyche fighting to take over the story. By the time the final pages turn, the window isn’t the only thing shattered – Mort’s whole identity has been rewritten in blood.
7. Psycho (1960)
In Psycho, Marion Crane flees with stolen cash and hides out at the off-the-map Bates Motel, where shy, stammering Norman Bates tends to both the guests and his overbearing, unseen “mother.” What starts as a guilty pit stop detonates into horror when Marion is murdered mid-shower, sending the film veering into a new mystery as her sister and boyfriend hunt for answers. Their search uncovers the motel’s rotten secret: Norman’s mother has been dead for years, and Norman – splintered by trauma – has been killing in her persona. By the time the truth surfaces, the Bates Motel stands as a quiet little nightmare where identity, guilt, and madness all check in… and only one checks out.
8. The Cable Guy (1996)
In The Cable Guy, mild-mannered Steven Kovacs thinks he’s just tipping a technician for a little free cable, but Chip – the socially starved, TV-raised installer who latches onto him – turns that favor into a full-blown parasocial chokehold. Chip forces his way into Steven’s life with “fun” that feels more like hostage energy – medieval dinner roleplay, invasive gifts, sabotaged relationships – until Steven realises this dude isn’t lonely, he’s unhinged. As Chip’s obsession mutates from clingy to chaotic, Steven gets dragged into a spiralling feud that ends atop a satellite dish in a showdown over friendship, boundaries, and one man’s desperate attempt to break free from a human rerun gone rogue.
9. The Machinist (2004)
In The Machinist, industrial worker Trevor Reznik is wasting away – literally – after a year of brutal insomnia leaves him looking like a ghost draped in skin and paranoia. When strange notes appear in his apartment, co-workers turn hostile, and a mysterious new employee named Ivan seems to be stalking him, Trevor spirals into a psychological scrapyard where guilt, hallucinations, and reality grind together like rusted gears. As he desperately tries to piece together who’s sabotaging him, Trevor uncovers the buried truth: the horrors haunting him aren’t conspiracies but the fallout of a hit-and-run he’s repressed. His skeletal descent becomes a grim pilgrimage toward confession, proving sometimes the scariest monster is the memory you refuse to face.
10. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
In 10 Cloverfield Lane, Michelle wakes up after a car crash to find herself chained in an underground bunker owned by Howard, a prepper with doom-day energy who insists the outside world has been wiped out by a chemical attack. Alongside fellow captive Emmett, she’s torn between believing Howard’s apocalyptic warnings and escaping a man whose “protective” vibe leans heavily into unhinged captor territory. As clues pile up and Howard’s temper curdles into full-blown menace, Michelle makes a desperate break – only to discover the world above is under attack, just not in the way anyone expected. What begins as a claustrophobic psychological thriller mutates into a cosmic oh-hell-yes sprint for survival, proving sometimes the real monster is in the room… and sometimes it’s waiting outside.
What did you think of this list of ‘Movies like Misery’?
What did you think of Misery? Have you seen any of these movies before?
Let us know in the comments.
