Yahoo News Greta star reveals her character was inspired by a Stephen King classic
If Isabelle Huppert's Greta gives you nightmarish flashbacks of Annie Wilkes taking a sledgehammer to Paul Sheldon's legs in Stephen King's classic Misery, that's because the legendary French actress took inspiration from Kathy Bates' iconic villain.
Neil Jordan's psychological thriller follows Huppert's titular character becoming increasingly obsessed with a naive young woman called Frances – played by Chloe Grace Moretz – who's recently arrived in New York.
Before long, Greta turns into Frances' worst nightmare-come-to-life, and her only chance of survival lies in the hands of her best friend Erica, played by Maika Monroe.
Huppert gives a brilliantly theatrical performance as Greta, providing laughter and chills in equal measure, and she revealed she was influenced by Bates' balance of humour and frights as crazed fan Annie in Misery.
"The film made me think of Misery, and in fact, as I was doing the movie, it happened that Misery was playing by pure coincidence at a theatre in Dublin during the filming of Greta," the Oscar-nominated Elle actress told Digital Spy.
"So I went to see it again because the character is terrifying and very funny at the same time, and there was a lot of irony to it. So I thought both films had a lot in common."
The comedy horror is set in Brooklyn, but was filmed in Dublin.
The actress also loved the open ending, so be warned – spoilers for the film follow.
She added of the final scenes: "That's what I loved about it. The Eiffel Tower as the lock, and you hear her knocking on the door – this woman who is so tricky and so shrewd. She may be able to open and to do it all over again. I really like the question mark at the ending."
Huppert will appear next in Frankie, a drama about generations grappling with a life-changing experience during one day of a vacation in Sintra, Portugal, a historic town known for its dense gardens and fairytale villas and palaces.
She stars alongside Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear and Marisa Tomei.
Greta is out at cinemas across the UK.
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