PAUL: God’s sake! Annie swings the sledgehammer back. ANNIE: It’s for the best. PAUL: Annie, please! Annie bashes Paul’s left ankle with the sledgehammer. Then walks around for the right. See now I felt that "bashes". I wonder is it because of her calmness, you know she's not in a place that you can talk her down from, there'll be no deterring her from the act. We're expecting, anticipating what's to come, like getting ready for any type of pain, that combined with his pleading. But I definitely winced and grimaced with the bash.

Had nightmares about this film, so, obviously, it made all sorts of impact. I think TheQuietAct really hit it on the head though with "anticipation." The scene gives us so much room to play it out a dozen times in our heads before it actually happens - and you've only had to have given blood once to know that anticipation is, well... misery.

I agree with what's already been said. If she just walked in and hammered him in anger and with haste, it would have been another piece of psycho violence. The way this dialogue is handled the bash hits multiple times before the actual strike. Hasn't King said Misery was about his helplessness against his addictions? Annie certainly sounds like the voice of an addiction. What a team, King and Goldman. Just thinking of them working together is enough for terror.