Storm of the Century (1999) User Reviews (205)

Beautiful atmospheric suspense behind a darkly Machiavellian story

[FiendishDramaturgy · 8/10 · 21 January 2005]

Quite honestly, at first, I did not know what to make of this film. Upon first viewing, it seemed like an overly-long, over-dramatized, superficial piece of cinematic sludge.

However, upon a second viewing, I've come to appreciate the fiendish wit, and slow building suspense which is comparable to the malevolent Hitchcock-ian style suspense fans will quickly recognize. However, it does lack the subtlety of said director's style but gives you in-your-face evil in its place.

These performances are really quite indicative of America's New England accents, mind-sets, and coastal way of life. Everyone contributed above-average performances, so there is no need to single out anyone other than Colm Feore.

Colm Feore takes on the character of Andre Linoge; the personification of evil itself. As a Being of great power and extreme longevity, his quest for a prodigy is actually quite understandable. However, the way he goes about it, was psychologically sound in execution, and provides him the very end he desired.

He divided. He terrorized. He manifested. He planted the seeds of apathy, and he conquered. Very cleverly written and portrayed with a marvelously Machiavellian execution.

You never even notice that it was actually, Made for TV.

There was one issue, I had with this film. You never discover what Linoge's race is. You are told he is neither a God, nor an Immortal. He has Vampyric teeth, and lives a long, long time, but he is obviously not a Vampyre. He demonstrates some of the elder Vampyric abilities, but I got the feeling there was much more there than mere Vampyrism. It would have been nice to have been told.

I must also add that the DVD version contained about 30 minutes' worth of snips of scenes which the 2-tape VHS edition I had for years did not possess. The DVD version, marked "the Complete Mini-Series" thereby gives the viewer a much greater understanding of the details surrounding the events.

It rates an 8.2/10 on the "TV" scale from...

the Fiend :.

Liked Stephen Kings Story

[whpratt1 · 8/10 · 1 July 2006]

Always liked Stephen Kings books and some of his films were great and others not as interesting, with horrible endings which made very little sense. This film in my opinion was fantastic and held my interest right to the very end and his conclusion to the film was even better than I expected. Storm of the Century was very creepy with all the snow covering this small lobster town and then a man with an ugly cane coming to the door of a very old home; and an old lady drinking tea inside hears the door bell and struggles to use a walker to see who is at her door. It is from this point on that the film never stops giving you the creeps and chills up and down your spine. This strange man keeps saying: "Give Me What I Want and I will Go Away" and the guy really means it. Stephen King even makes an appearance on a broken TV Screen, so watch out for his brief showing. Enjoy

What a story, what a man, what a movie?

[Gunnar_Runar_Ingibjargarson · 8/10 · 29 September 2008]

"Give me what I want and I'll go away," demands the black-eyed, stocking-capped stranger Linoge (Colm Feore), who appears in a quiet island community on the verge of the worst storm in decades and brutally bludgeons an old lady to death. Tim Daly, the town sheriff and voice of reason and moral strength, locks up the quiet madman, but the deaths pile up as Linoge acts them out from his cell like a murderous mime pulling psychic strings. Stephen King, whose original teleplay is his best work for the screen since The Stand, transforms the sleepy burg into a Peyton Place of guilty secrets and criminal activity ripped from under a blanket of small town normality while the white-out of the snowstorm completely cuts them off from civilization. Director Craig R. Baxley nicely maintains an icy tension while the waiting game goes on, perhaps a little too long, before Linoge finally reveals "what he wants" and the drama turns into a struggle for man's soul in miniature. The more ambitious special effects and set pieces sometimes disappoint but are more than made up for in King's knack for turning the mundane into the macabre (the children's song "I'm a Little Teapot" has never sounded more sinister) and a few brilliantly realized sequences, the best of which occurs when townspeople are literally yanked out of existence while watching the storm. Storm of the Century is one of the most successful translations of King's brand of horror to the screen.

A tale of morals and principles

[nakkas · 27 December 2001]

ACHTUNG: SPOILERS!

All in all the community of Little Tall Island was a bunch of hypocritical cowards who hid behind a pretext, i.e. in a crisis the community has to stick together and the commonwealth is more important than the fate of one person. A fine excuse, because essentially they all just feared for their own lives and didn't believe their community would be morally strong enough to withstand Linoge. How could they, they were - as Linoge stated - thieves, murderers, pedophiles, gay-bashers, adulterers and kept their dirty little secrets from each other. They were NOT a community. And that's why the demon was able to defeat them, he knew they didn't have the morals or faith it would have taken to resist him. Personally I doubt that Linoge could have made them commit collective suicide or kill the children. Right before he heads off with Ralph, the mother shouts out at him and accuses him of having tricked them. Linoge then answers wryly that maybe they (the community) have tricked themselves. So I think he had only so much power over them as they were willing to give him. But even if he had killed them all: in the last scene, where Anderson catches a glimpse of his now teenage son and realizes he has become a demon, too...well, I'd rather have my kid dead than have him lose his soul and become a monster. In one of the previous posts someone asks, "Why didn't Linoge just gather them up and confront them right in the beginning?". Well if he had asked them for one of their children right after killing the old lady, nobody would have even considered doing so. It was necessary to instill fear and panic into their hearts and keep them in ignorance as long as possible in order to wear them down. Only then would they be willing to sacrifice one of their children for their own sake.

a good miniseries

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 6 August 2006]

Stephen King created an unnerving miniseries with "Storm of the Century", about a blizzard in a Maine town bringing a stranger (Colm Feore) who tells everyone "Give me what I want and I'll go away." And this guy isn't kidding. Not only does he know everything about everyone, but he's got something ugly in store for anyone who challenges him. Some scenes in the movie are very likely to make your blood freeze. And I agree with a previous reviewer that people shouldn't complain about the ending: things can't always be sugar-coated (this is Stephen King, remember).

All in all, this is really impressive, and you're sure to like it. You may never trust anyone again after watching this. Also starring Debrah Farentino, Casey Siemaszko and Jeffrey DeMunn.

I guess that we're all little teapots in some way or other...

A very enjoyable film

[cojiro · 9/10 · 8 January 2004]

Stephen King's 'Storm of the Century' is more than I expected. Compared to Stephen King's other movies (that he himself adapted/wrote), I place it up there with 'The Stand' and 'Rose Red.' An offland Maine island is under attack from two forces (or are they really one?): a fierce storm and the mysterious André Linoge. The former takes out the power lines and radios, forcing the townsfolk to gather together in the basement of the town hall. The latter shows a mysterious power to manipulate the objects (and people) around him. I was very impressed by the performance of Tim Daly in this. He did a great job as the lead role. The real charm of this movie to me was the community spirit the town showed. The characters (as in all Stephen King's works) are very believable. The way they pull together in this miniseries was particularly endearing. Overall, I'd give it a 9/10. Not something you should miss if you ever have the chance.

Fairly good made-for-TV Stephen King movie.

[capkronos · 7/10 · 3 January 2006]

In the 90s, Stephen King adaptations were be-coming as common on TV as in theaters, which is just as well since many of the TV adaptations turned out better than their theatrical counterparts. The setting is a familiar one, Little Tall Island, a small wintery town off the coast of Maine where citizens prepare for a record-setting snowstorm. Everyone's trapped, so it figures when creepy, polite stranger Anton Linoge (Colm Feore) wanders into the quaint town, begins a supernatural murder spree and proclaims, "Give me what I want and I'll go away!" Linoge turns out to be some kind of murderous, demonic entity (sometimes with fangs and red eyes) who knows all about the evil in their past, can predict their futures and cause them to kill each other (or themselves).

Feore is first-rate in this difficult role, showing the same kind of quiet intensity that made Anthony Hopkins' performance in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS so enjoyable. Tim Daly is very good, too, as the perplexed, sharp-minded constable. The story is interesting, there are some effective, though sparsely used, FX (some CGI to bring a silver wolf's head cane to life that possesses victims, plus some morphing), good production values and appropriately bleak blue-tinted photography. Unfortunately, the films impact is muted by sheer over length (4 hours!) and things get real silly when the little kids start flying around in the sky like rejected PETER PAN extras. King (who has a token cameo on a busted TV screen) scripted and was co executive producer of this three-part miniseries. Director Baxley returned with another TV King adaptation; ROSE RED (2001). Steve Johnson worked on the special effects.

Simply Great

[Raistllin · 10/10 · 11 October 2003]

As a fan of Stephen King I always thought that all the movies or series except "IT" weren't really good although the books were great. As I started watching "Storm of The Century" I didn't have any expectations and thought I would give up in 30 mins or so because it lasts 4 hours + but I was wrong. Although I saw many of the cast first time act, I think most of them did a great job. The story is incredible and the surroundings fit in great. I didn't realize how the time pass and at the end of it I wished it would go on. The story itself has many things in it. Horror, drama, tragedy, crime and even romance. Definitely worth to watch and worth the time spend watching it. 9 out of 10.

Way too long

[jfg9472 · 6/10 · 28 February 2023]

As good as this story is, and it really is, it would have been better if it didn't take until the very last hour out of 4 to learn what Linoge wants, hence the 6 star rating. It really needed to be 2 parts or even a single 2 hour movie. It drags and drags and drags until things finally get anywhere. It actually reminds me of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" especially in the last hour. The cast is OK and good at making you hate the characters you're supposed to hate and sympathize with others suffering under an inept arrogant politician and the burden of secrets kept. In spite of its slow pacing, it's still a good story about keeping secrets in an isolated small town and their consequences.

Outstanding-Best Stephen King movie

[leopard138 · 10/10 · 16 February 2004]

No Spoilers here. One of my favorite 10 movies, and easily the best made for TV movie ever. Storm of the Century reaches the highest level of suspense of any movie I have ever seen. I have watched it 5 times now, and am amazed at how linear it is for its length. Not a minute is wasted.

As with every great film it is not for everyone, but keep in mind that no movie is rated above 9.0 here, and that some people will not like it because it was made for TV, is Stephen King, is long, isn't packed with CGI or gore, or isn't a comfortably predictable Hollywood story. Don't let the fact it isn't rated 8.0+ fool you-this is an outstanding movie.

Absolutely anti-Hollywood (I love it for that as well), this is much more like an independent film not trying to be artsy. Few big name stars, no wasted sub-plots to draw in general audiences, no special effects wedged awkwardly in, not packed with pretty people who cannot act or out-of-place one-liners. This is a pure horror/suspense movie.

If you want a movie you can predict the ending to within 10 minutes, or settle down comfortably to another familiar rehashed horror story, pass on this one-it is original, chilling, and as gripping and memorable as any movie you will see. Like any horror suspense movie, you won't get the full effect if you have it on at noon while surfing the net and chatting on the phone. I most closely would compare it to Silence of the Lambs or The Ring in tension and flow, but without the shock value. The tension and eeriness this movie creates is palpable.

This is not a slasher/gore movie, and you will get a chance to know the main characters of Little Tall Island, as well as see an original portrayal of antagonist Colm Feore (who perfectly nailed his role). Yes, Anthony Hopkins would have ALSO been great for this role, but I don't think better. If you are chilled by hearing "I'm a Little Teapot, short and stout..." afterwards, you'll be here posting great reviews as well.

Sad, Sick, Twisted Story

[mwendel · 7/10 · 8 February 2004]

Sad. Sick. Twisted. Not anything unusual for Stephen King. This is the story of on 99% honest and 100% good man's struggle to save his town and their children. Mike Anderson (Timothy Daly) is the constable of a small town on an island off the coast of Maine. This movie is the story of his attempt to save the town from a mysterious and supernatural stranger who appears in their midst in the middle of the "Storm of the Century". Sadly, the town is full of corrupt, cowardly, and weak-willed people, making the task that much more daunting and impossible. You will watch as Mike Anderson throughout the movie tries to do that which is right and proves that he was the only strong willed and honest person within that town. But it is to no avail, as in the end Mike Anderson loses that which matters to him most as the town caves in to the strangers demands and intimidation. Its a well produced, yet horrible story, with a very dark and sad feeling that makes your blood boil in the end, because the people of this town are so astoundingly pathetic, corrupt, and pitiful.

Flip Side: Linoge is Actually The Good Guy! Read This for the True Meaning of the Story!!

[ibnzrokr · 10/10 · 26 January 2005]

Most people have already given extraordinary plot summaries of this movie so I'm going to skip the plot summary. What I do want to say is that I've found a flip-side meaning to the story:

***Note: The next few paragraphs might contain some spoilers. Read with caution!***

It may seem that Linoge is the devil, going around town killing people as he pleases. However, after watching the movie, I've found that it teaches something about our human race. Linoge is right: It isn't just that little island that is infested with robbers, adulterers, and child molesters. Our entire human race is "diseased" by sins. On the flip-side, Linoge is not the sinner, it is actually all those on the island. Remember when Linoge talks about how some guy molested 7 girls? He's making a point. He's not here to kill, he's here to punish.

Now, you say, why does Linoge take the son of the poor, innocent Constable? BECAUSE THE CONSTABLE IS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE TOWN WHO HAVEN'T COMMITTED A SINGLE SIN. Therefore, he passes on his sin-less genes to his son, who is pure. Linoge wants a pure child to carry on his message about human sin.

In essence, The Storm of the Century was not caused by Linoge, but it was actually caused by humans themselves. We humans have lived in a "Storm" of sins, especially these days.

Still don't believe that this is the real message? Remember how the townspeople had a dream about falling in the water? Well, think about it. What do you usually do with water other than drink it? You use it to clean things right? Right. Here, Linoge is throwing people into the water to "clean" and "purify" the town of these sinners.

Still not convinced? Remember the scene where the children were flying in the sky? Why did they look so happy and heartwarming? Because Linoge knows that children are born without sin and children are usually pure. Therefore, he treats them with kindness. Notice he did not kill NOT EVEN ONE small child in the story? Why? Because he knows that children start off clean, without any crimes on their slate.

Think about it.

What was Linoge and why an innocent child?

[Sylviastel · 7/10 · 11 January 2012]

Spoilers Alert! Spoiler Alert! I liked Stephen King's earlier works. This mini-series has a slow pace at times that it gets frustrating. I didn't watch the film with Stephen King's commentary--I often find commentaries distracting from the film or television program. Anyway, this four mini-series takes place in an isolated island off of Maine where you need to get a ferry ride across to get there. Much like King's works, it's set in Maine on an island called "Littletall." Anyway, a massive blizzard takes over the Northeast especially New England and everybody evacuates to the town shelter. A mysterious evil stranger played by Colm Feore has come to town and wants something but doesn't spit it out until the fourth hour. Tim Daly's Mike Anderson character is the only one with any scruples in that town. I don't know why an innocent child needed to be sacrificed in order to send Feore's Linoge away. Couldn't he have settled for an adult? Anyway, I disagree with the ending of the film and am troubled by Linoge's character--what is he? why does he have power? where did he come from? Those questions still remain unanswered after four hours of viewing. I wouldn't have voted to send a child away with this monstrous creature no matter what even if it meant certain death for the rest of us. I was deeply troubled by the town's insistence in sacrificing one child for the rest of them. In my opinion, the town agreed to a soul murder of one child in order to save the rest from Linoge's evil manipulations and tricks. Only one person stood up and lost against him. Linoge took a sleeping child away to hell. That child was pretty much spiritually dead then and only a physical vessel to Linoge's plan. Linoge knew the town would comply after his destructive behavior.

Give me what I want? No, it didn't.

[tonyw-3 · 1/10 · 26 July 2000]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the majority of reviewers here and say that I thought this was a load of claptrap. The plot was thin to say the least and the entire thing was completely devoid of any subplots that might have made it interesting. It absolutely lacked humour of any sort - some light relief would have increased the tension by contrasting with it - as it was this was merely a cobbled-together list of "interesting ways of making people die", followed by a rather trite "people have to make a choice" ending. After about the third (well, the second) death this all became very tedious. This set the tone for the whole thing.

Parts of it were cut from the whole cloth of other King stories. The fact that Flagg - sorry, I meant to say Linoge - knew "things" about Islanders came straight from the "poison pen" idea in "Needful Things", the "making people suffer at a distance" idea from King's truly awesome creation of Randall Flagg in "The Stand" (though without any of Flagg's depth) and the violence from Bob Gray (Pennywise) in "It". These were blended in such a way as to include only the more sensational and gory aspects without any of the creeping horror present in the originals. All it needed was a few Tommyknockers and a murderous car and we'd just about have had the full set!

Part of the problem is that Linoge is omnipotent - there is no way the islanders can beat him. No attempt is made, in any case. So the essential "good versus evil" struggle is missing, leaving the viewer only to wonder rather wearily how the final and inevitable capitulation would come.

Nothing much new here, except an unpleasant feeling that King really has finally run out of ideas. One thing I did notice - Linoge was wearing a belt with a snake buckle. Wasn't it Randall Flagg who wore one of those in The Stand? If so, perhaps King himself was making a kind of apology for ripping off his own character to make this dreadful potboiler!

Imagine if Stephen King wrote "It Takes a Village"

[bs122782 · 25 February 1999]

"Storm of the Century" is Stephen King's perverse twist on the importance of a community working together in times of crisis. In brief, Little Tall Island off the coast of Maine (yes, it's Dolores Claiborne's old haunt) pop. 400 is besieged by the worst winter storm on record. It is also besieged by the arrival of the strange Mr. Linoge and a string of violent murders/suicides. Linoge's mantra is "Give me what I want and I'll go away." When the townfolk finally find out what Linoge wants they surprisingly do not even hesitate to give him what he wants. And it is a pretty major thing that he wants. Only one man dares to speak differently, to be the voice of reason in a crowd of madness.

What is most surprising about this movie is the climax. It is quite unpredictable (hint: the power of love is not stronger than the power of evil). In the end the townfolk may end up saving themselves but their souls are as cold and desolate as a coastal Maine winter. Only one man is able to leave the town and recapture at least part of of his soul but he too will be forever haunted by memory of the winter storm of 1989.

Tim Daly gives his best performance to date and Debarah Farentino is quite good as his wife. Jeffrey DeMumm, Jeremy Jordan, Kathleen Chalfant, Myra Carter, Becky Ann Baker stand out in the large supporting cast. But the actor you will most remember is Colm Feore as Linoge. He doesn't say a lot in the script but then he doesn't need to. This actor works theatrical magic with his use of body language (his eyes, his lips, his hands, even his breathing). Nothing short of brilliant.

You might be troubled by the ending but this is still Stephen King's best television adaptation to date.

Fairly solid mini-series but pretty flawed

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 5 November 2012]

When a serious and damaging storm signals the arrival of a mysterious stranger on a small island off the coast of Maine, his rampage of terror across the inhabitants forces them to make a horrifying decision when they learn his true intentions for arriving.

This one turned out to be quite decent and pretty enjoyable. The setting is great, as the snow-fallen town looks suitably chilling and provides a wonderful blanket for the events to follow, generates some nice suspense and generally works well. The development of his plan and why he's there are both chilling, with the first half being devoted to his arrival and incarceration, the second a demonstration of his power and the third being his whole plan creating a very nice ark that culminates in some good stuff through each offering. With a lot more deaths on hand, the second is generally more entertaining than the others as there's some pretty nasty deaths on hand as we get to see him assert his power over the town in the middle of the storm so there's plenty of good times throughout this part, though again most of the segments do have a great scene throughout. It does have a couple of rather big flaws, though, mainly in the fact that it takes forever for the secret of what he wants to come out, and when it does, it feels a little underwhelming since a lot of time has been spent on it being this big secret yet it's entirely underwhelming. As well, a lot of stuff here seems padded out due to it's mini-series origin with a lot of scenes that really don't need to be there at all or could've been shortened to keep this moving along at a little swifter pace. All in all, not one of his better efforts in the field but certainly worthwhile enough.

Rated Unrated/PG-13: Violence, Language and children-in-jeopardy.

They made the wrong decision

[Sanpaco13 · 9/10 · 7 March 2007]

Storm of the Century was a very good show but with a very disturbing ending. I'm not saying that it was a poor ending as in not well written but I was hoping for a different outcome and was very frustrated when it did not happen.

The point of the story was that the majority of the town had no true morality even though they may have said they did. It is a cynical statement against the self-righteousness of society and how people tend to not live according to what they proclaim to be their own beliefs and standards. Mike Anderson seemed to be the only person in the town that truly did believe that through faith, the town could stand up to the demon Linoge and win. The rest of the town seemed convinced that the only option was to give in and argued that it would be better to have a child live with a bad man than to die. Even if that were true, this shows that they did not believe in an afterlife where innocents are saved and people receive a reward for making righteous choices. This frustrates me so much about the people in this town. It would have made me even more furious than Mike had it been me in his place. They argue that giving into a demon to save themselves from death is a better option than fighting evil and making a righteous choice even if that choice means death.

Many of Stephen King's stories take this cynical approach for some of the characters but the fact that it is so prominent and even centric in this one really hit a nerve for me. I like to think that I would have been the "Mike Anderson" in this story and that I would have stood up to evil even if it meant death. But the story very effectively points out the hypocrisy of many.

The main difference with this story, and I think what really upset me, was that usually the good guy comes through and even in this story, I held onto the hope that in the end, Mike would pull through and save Ralphie. The fact that he doesn't truly broke my heart the first time I saw this and I was incredibly upset.

I find it interesting that in King's stories, you can never really tell in the beginning whether a person will truly be strong or weak in the face of evil. A lot of Stephen King's character's, like Jack Torrance in The Shining, are weak and that is why they give into evil influence. In fact if you listen to Stephen King commentary on The Stand he mentions this idea. Everyone is good but some only to the point where evil can easily overtake them anyway. I believe is what he says. Basically I take this to mean that a lot of people are only good because they fear the consequences of sin or the social implications of doing things that are viewed as unacceptable in our society, but then when they are faced with pure evil in his stories they easily give in because they then fear the consequences and threats that they are faced with from the evil character, like death. To me this is a clear sign that these people have no faith or solid beliefs in any kind of religion at all.

So in Storm of the Century it seems that only the truly good people in the entire town are the ones that get screwed and that's why I didn't like the ending. This is seen in the scene where the boyfriend (Billy?) resists killing the pregnant girl but she just turns right around and kills him. So he gets punished by the weak for being strong in the face of evil. This also is evidence to me that the town truly made the wrong choice and had they had faith they could have resisted Linoge. He spends the entire 2nd hour of the film sitting in a jail cell puppeting around weak individuals to do evil acts as evidence of his power. This is part of his lie. He wants them to believe that he has the power to make them all walk into the sea when in reality he only has as much power as they give him.

Gotta hand it to Stephen king

[mrtorono · 6/10 · 22 August 2021]

Man I loved this movie, I was excited for another Stephen king movie, I would say my favorite Stephen king movie is still secret window.

The best horror mini-series out there.

[ReflectedGlory · 9/10 · 9 January 2006]

Very good movie. Well done. Stephen King has always been one of my favorite authors due to his ability to make his characters seem real and put them in extraordinary situations. This movie watches just like one of his books reads. If you are a fan of his books, then you should be a fan of this movie.

The atmosphere of the movie is amazing. It completely drew me in. I watched it again this month (January) and kept expecting to look out the windows and see a big snow storm. Mike, the constable, is a typical Stephen King good guy who reminds me of another King lawman, Alan Pangborn. Both are pretty righteous men who cannot be bought or dissuaded of their morals no matter what happens. What happens is, in this instance, a truly creepy creature named Linoge. I've read a lot of the posts about SOTC on this site and people have wildly differing opinions about what King should or shouldn't have done with Linoge. I think he wrote (and cast) him perfectly, I wouldn't have changed a thing. The reason King never explains exactly what Linoge is is that it's scarier that way. If you've ever read any interviews or essays by King he believes that in his horror stories his job is to scare people. He did this very effectively in this movie; it was made for TV for crying out loud but it had some very scary moments. Most horror movies don't creep anyone out anymore, they go for the gore factor, but King knows what is scary. The unknown is scary. He just gives hints to Linoge's past (Roanoke island and the fact that Linoge is an acronym to Legion, from the Bible) and the rest is up to the watcher's imagination.

The special effects are great for the budget, I would love to know how they created the storm. Did they build the whole town and then bury it in fake snow? No idea, but it was well done.

SPOILER ALERT

Finally, the ending: A lot of people posting the negative reviews seem to be angry about the ending. It's not a happy ending, but I think it's the only ending that makes any sense. It's realistic. One kid goes with Linoge, or the whole town marches off into the ocean like a bunch of lemmings. What would your town do in such a situation, against an unbeatable adversary? The ending makes the whole thing believable and sets it apart from other Hollywood fluff. It makes you think: what would you do in that situation? Also it kills me that some people give this movie a one or two star rating out of ten because they are mad at the ending. The fact that they are mad enough to take retaliatory action (in the form of a bad review) just shows that they were drawn into the story; that the story succeeded in what it set out to do, to make the audience care about the characters enough that they are upset when the good guys lose. I love it and I tip my hat to King. 10 out of 10!

Born in Sin, "Storm"'s a Win(ner)

[Jonny_Numb · 7/10 · 15 November 2007]

As far as Stephen King miniseries go, "Storm of the Century" is probably one of the best--no, it's not quite in the same league as the Mick Garris efforts (and it is sorely lacking his sardonic, dark wit) or 1990's "It," but it is arguably one of the most faithful representations of King's literary style. At its best, it retains the hallmarks that make the author's prose so readable: common, small-town setting populated by common, small-town folk; a streak of regional humor; and a struggle for power against an otherworldly force. On Little Tall Island, the inhabitants brace for a bruising blizzard, but no sooner has the snow begun falling than a mysterious stranger named Andre Linoge (the cool and menacing Colm Feore) blows into town, nonchalantly murdering an elderly woman; this act, like the blizzard, builds up in a slow burn of suspense and strange happenings, culminating in a climax that presses against the stripped-bare desperation of emotions in Shakespeare. While some of the revelations seem telegraphed and the last segment suffers from a drawn-out denouement, "Storm of the Century" is captivating--but not necessarily compelling--enough to keep us anxious and intrigued for 4 1/2 hours, and even inserts some effective commentary on adult responsibility and accepting lies as truth when the truth is too horrible to bear (I never thought "I'm a Little Teapot" could be turned into a metaphor for repressed misdeeds waiting to burst, but here it is). Tim Daly is great in the lead role of Constable Michael Anderson, a rugged King Everyman; Jeffrey DeMunn is a great mix of humor and power hunger as the Town Manager; and Deborah Farentino brings a pathos and near-villainy to a mother who is trying to "do the right thing" within a dire situation.

Over long but solidly spooky and oddly thought provoking

[robertemerald · 8/10 · 18 February 2019]

Castle Rock, a recent series also by Stephen King, also has a stranger in town/trouble premise, though not the only one. There's something about both shows that really makes one think, as if such horror was not quite as far away as other horror movies you might have seen, sort of eerily familiar. Anyway, that's how it bites me. Nuts and bolts is easier. The acting holds this piece above many others. It's very very good. And it's a very large cast, so hats off to casting as well. There are so many (necessary) close-ups that any hint of wooden or uncommitted performance would be tagged straight away. As that never happens, hats off to the director too, it must have been gruelling. I could only get hold of the second half, and I thought that was too long. In the third quarter the effects are brilliant, and nicely edited as well, particularly where two timelines needed to be related. The last quarter is where I docked a point. There were effects that simply did not need to exist, as if the director had an incurable soft spot for old theatre pulley effects. If ever this movie is redone that needs to be thought about. It didn't spoil the ending in any intellectual way, I enjoyed the ending, but I thought it noticeably old-fashioned. On the plus side, the storm itself is a marvel of cinematography. All up this is classic horror from a very inventive mind, and, if you are lucky enough to run across it, well worth chasing.

Amazing atmosphere

[shakedatjunk · 7/10 · 6 October 2022]

Love the first episode and the ending. The atmosphere and location shots are mesmerizing. Also the practical water effects during the storm were great. I don't like how they spoiled what the stranger is so early and kept cheesily showing the teeth. The messages he was leaving started to get very repetitive as well as the Teacup song and his little sayings that he repeated. The cinematography was great and acting was its best in episode 1. It feels very much like it's trying to capture the mood and feeling of Twin Peaks, from the wide long outdoor shots and the similar music cues. Also the setup of the mystery and the interactions between all the town's people. The way the murder shakes the town and kicks off the darkness to follow. You really got the sense it was a small connected community and they felt like real people. All this feels very Twin Peaks like along with the supernatural element.

You can also tell this series was a very big inspiration on Midnigt Mass, as there are a lot of similarities and the visual cues are even similar. I compared Midnight Mass to Twin Peaks occasionally as well. The moral dilemma in this show was also very similar to Midnight Mass.

I love the start of this show, felt like it was slightly dragged out and lost some steam along the way. But I also think the ending was very strong made you feel something and definitely ponder your thoughts. The kills were also decently bloody for being TV-PG on ABC. Very close to being great but some things hold it back slightly but a very enjoyable binge worthy watch.

Too spooky!!

[Ultimate 80s kid · 10/10 · 21 January 2001]

Every parents worst nightmare! Another one of Stephen King's awesome creations added to my list of favorites. You have to have plenty of time on your hands to watch it. However trust me on this, it's worth it! Stephen King is the only one possible who could make a snow day a horrifying! A must see!

Stephen King and Television

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 9 November 2015]

A small village off the mainland is about to receive a huge winter storm. It won't be just another storm for them. A strange visitor named Andre Linoge comes to the small village and gives the residents havoc. He knows everything about them, and when he tells the truth about one of them, that person denies it.

There is some sort of connection between Stephen King and television, though I do not quite know what it is. Many of his films have been turned into TV mini-series. Some are quite good. "It", for example, is somewhat legendary, as is "The Stand". And then you get duds like "The Langoliers", which really should not even exist.

This is in the middle, maybe more good than bad. In some sense, it has elements of "The Stand" or "Needful Things", with its villain who seems to be devil incarnate. Perhaps they are all the same character? But it may also have a weakness in being a mini-series. It might run too long and might be too repetitive. People will disagree on this.

After an hour or so, I WANTED the good guys to die.

[lightsleeper23 · 2/10 · 2 April 2008]

This movie looked very promising at the beginning. I love snow storms and cold weather, I love Stephen King, and I love mini-series'. I also love Tim Daly from Wings, so I thought this was a sure bet. After an hour or so, I found myself not only NOT sympathizing with the character(s) anymore, but hoping the bad guy would win and kill them all.

This is just plain bad writing from King, no other way around it. He is usually really good at creating awesome characters that you relate to and sympathize with, but in this town everyone is so dumb and lifeless you start hating them quickly.

Example 1: Daly and citizen are walking the prisoner, who just savagely beat an old woman to death, into the jail which is located in, get ready, the grocery store. Ummm, what? I get that this is a VERY small town and they have no police department, but still, you don't put the jail in one of the most public places in town, where there is always many townsfolk inside. You put in in some other building where there are few people frequenting. Sooo, they get to the back door and it's jammed, so they have to walk him through the front and all the people stocking up for the storm. The cop tells everyone to stand clear and stay off aisle two, so what do these retarded people do? They stand on aisle two, leaving barely enough room to walk through. One idiotic townie is so busy gawking that she pays no attention to her kid, who runs around the aisle and smack into the killer. He picks up the kid and creeps everyone out, then they FINALLY get him into the back and the cop tells him to stand against the cell and spread-em so he can search him. Wait, what? He waits until AFTER he marches this vicious killer past the whole town before he searches him? Come on King, can you be any more retarded?

Example 2: Later, killer is in cell, cop and citizen are guarding. Killer is talking, pissing off the citizen who then proceeds to pick up the cops gun, which he left laying on the desk, and tries to shoot the killer. Committs attempted murder, but accidentally shoots THE COP! Almost kills the cop, who blacks out for a minute, gets up and checks his wound, which proves to be superficial, and all he has to say to this citizen is "I told you to keep a safe distance from him." Ho doesn't even seem mad at all! And what does the guys distance from the killer have to do with anything at all? HE picked up a gun and tried to kill him. Again, King, what the hell is wrong with you here?

All in all, this is some of the dumbest writing I've seen, including B-movies. I know this guy is not a REAL cop but a constable, but still... forget police protocol, this guy has no COMMON SENSE whatsoever, by any standards. These people are all so brainless and dull you just can't care for them at all.