PHOTO PROVIDED James Caan and Kathy Bates star in “Misery.”

Even though Halloween is over, I had to squeeze one more scary film out of the month of October.

Over the weekend, I stumbled across “Misery” in the free movie section of my cable provider. As hard as it is to believe, “Misery” is 30 years old. I tried to remember where and when I first watched the film, which is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. I vaguely remember watching it on VHS with an old girlfriend, though the memories are fuzzy.

“Misery” tells the tale of an author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) who writes romance novels about a character named Misery Chastain. The film begins with Paul finishing a new, non-Misery novel, having a glass of champagne and a quick smoke before heading back to New York City from his cottage in the woods. Unfortunately, Paul leaves in the middle of a blizzard and wrecks his vintage Mustang in the storm. He’s rescued by a woman, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates’ breakout role) who takes him to her home and begins nursing him back to health. We learn that Paul sustained two broken legs and a dislocated shoulder in the wreck.

Annie informs Paul that she’s his “number one fan.” She asks if she can read his new manuscript, but is bothered by the profanity in it. Like Paul, we start to see cracks in Annie’s character. It’s clear that she is not doing this in his best interest. Instead, he is being held captive. The next day, she brings a grill into the room and tells him to burn the manuscript. Paul tries to con Annie into thinking that there are more copies of it floating around, but she’s not buying it. Paul is forced to burn his book and we see the pain in his eyes as he sets it on fire.

Annie’s anger is on display once again when she buys the latest Misery novel, only to find that Paul kills off Misery in childbirth. The death of the fictional character sends Annie into a rage and she informs Paul that no one knows where he is before locking him in his room.

There are a lot of tense scenes in the film. As Annie slips into madness, Paul begins to recover. He is able to escape his room and learns the depths of her depravity. It turns out that Annie has a very dark past and is quite capable of murder. Paul begins to concoct a plan to escape from Annie and the cabin. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way, including a scene where Annie “hobbles” Paul by breaking his ankles. While not gory, that scene is easily the most disturbing in the film. However, what Annie does to Paul in the novel is much, much worse! Thank goodness director Rob Reiner didn’t include it.

Caan and Bates carry “Misery” because they have to. Oftentimes, they are the only people we see for long stretches of time. There is a likable sheriff, Buster (Richard Farnsworth), who is obsessed with trying to find the missing author.

If you enjoy a good psychological thriller, “Misery” is it. Even though it’s 30 years old, it holds up surprisingly well. Take away cell phones and laptops, and the film could me made today.

Bates won an Oscar for her role as Annie, and it is well-deserved. She is totally believable as a psychopath who gets obsessed with an author she doesn’t know. And Caan displays his acting chops as the best-selling author who is trapped in the woods with his “number one fan.” We feel his pain and despair at every turn.

Misery is rated R for language, violence and adult themes. While it’s hardly gory, it’s probably best to watch this one after the kids are in bed. It is available on Xfinity OnDemand, Vudu, Hulu, iTunes, YouTube and Google Play.

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Chris Morelli is a staff writer for The Express.