Storm of the Century

This article is about the TV miniseries. For other uses, see Storm of the Century (disambiguation).
Storm of the Century

Cover of the published screenplay
Genre Drama, Horror, Fantasy, Thriller
Written by Stephen King
Directed by Craig R. Baxley
Starring Timothy Daly
Colm Feore
Debrah Farentino
Casey Siemaszko
Jeffrey DeMunn
Country of origin US
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 3
Production
Producer(s) Stephen King
Mark Carliner
Location(s) Little Tall Island, Maine
Running time 256 min.
Budget $35,000,000
Release
Original network ABC
Original release February 14, 1999 – February 18, 1999

Storm of the Century, alternatively known as Stephen King's Storm of the Century, is a 1999 horror TV miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Unlike many other King mini-series, Storm of the Century was not based upon a Stephen King novel—King wrote it as a screenplay from the beginning. The screenplay was published in February 1999.

Plot

A very powerful blizzard hits the fictional small town of Little Tall Island (also the setting of King's novel Dolores Claiborne) off the coast of Maine. The storm is so powerful that all access off the island is blocked, and no one is able to leave the island until the storm is over. While trying to deal with the storm, tragedy strikes when one of the town's residents is brutally murdered by André Linoge (Colm Feore), a menacing stranger who appears to know the town members' darkest secrets, and who gives no hint of his motives other than the cryptic statement "Give me what I want, and I'll go away."

Linoge is imprisoned in the town's holding cell by part-time constable Michael Anderson (Timothy Daly), but it becomes clear that his ability to affect the town is not inhibited as he sows supernatural terror in the town's populace through strange suicides and terrifying dreams. After escaping from the cell, Linoge's campaign of terror culminates in an enchantment that places all eight of the town's small children into unconsciousness. He eventually calls a town meeting, and it is here that Linoge reveals the reason why he has come into their town.

What Linoge desires is an heir, one of the eight children he has enchanted. He reveals his true form (an impossibly ancient, dying man), explaining that he is not immortal, and needs someone to carry on his "work" once he can no longer do it himself. He states that "in matters such as this" he cannot simply take the child he desires, but he can punish. If the residents accept his request, he will leave them in peace, promising that the child he takes will have a long life with much to see. If they refuse, he threatens to force them to march into the sea two-by-two, as he claims to have done at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, centuries before. With his demands set, he leaves them with half an hour to make their decision.

Although Michael Anderson begs the town to refuse Linoge's request, appealing to their common decency and the fact that they may be aiding in a great evil, his arguments fall on deaf ears. All of the townspeople except him vote to give Linoge what he desires. Linoge is deeply pleased at this choice, and has each parent draw one of eight "weirding stones" from a sack; seven white stones, and one black stone. The parent who draws the single black stone is the one whose child will be taken. It ultimately comes down to Molly Anderson and Melinda Hatcher. When they both open their hands, Molly is revealed to have the black stone. Ralph Anderson, her son, and the child hinted to be favored by Linoge throughout the series, is thus chosen. Even though Mike had refused to vote and therefore have his son withdrawn from this request, Molly had, against her husband's wishes, and therefore included Ralph in. Molly believes the choosing was fixed, a claim Linoge brushes off, saying the game was "straight" but says it in such a way as to raise doubt. Contemptuously thanking the town, Linoge transforms into his true form, and suggests that the less they say to the outside world about the events with him, the happier they will be, "but of course, such matters are ultimately up to you." With a final remark to Molly that Ralph will eventually come to call him "father", Linoge flies off into the night with his new protégé.

Most of the film's epilogue is narrated by Mike Anderson, as he explains how he leaves Little Tall the following summer. Unable to live with those who sacrificed his child, Mike divorces Molly and severs contact with the people he once called his friends but still keeps contact from a distance to know about what is going on in Little Tall after what happened. He eventually settles in San Francisco, attempting to move on from the storm. He goes back to school, earning a degree in law enforcement and another degree in accountancy, ultimately ending up as a US Marshal. Molly ends up marrying Alton Hatcher after his wife Melinda suddenly dies after a long period of depression. Other Little Tall townsfolk are not so lucky, with several committing suicide over the ensuing years. However, Linoge is not finished with Mike. Nine years after the storm, Mike is seen dropping take-out onto the ground as he is startled by the sound of something familiar. When an old man and a teenage boy walk by, humming Linoge's favorite tune "I'm a little teapot". He calls out to the boy, and they turn around. The boy looks strangely similar to Mike, and he realizes it is his son, now corrupted by Linoge. He chases after them into an alley, but they are gone.

Mike considers telling Molly about what he saw, but ultimately decides against it. It is implied he severs contact with Little Tall permanently after this event. His final thoughts are that sometimes, he thinks that was the wrong decision, "but in daylight, I know better."

Cast

Screenplay

The screenplay for the miniseries was written by Stephen King expressly for television, and was published by Pocket Books just prior to the initial airing of Storm of the Century on ABC, while the mass market edition of the screenplay was published only as a trade paperback. A hardcover edition was published concurrently by the Book of the Month Club. The book contains an introduction in which King describes the genesis of the idea as it occurred to him in late 1996, beginning to write it in December 1996, and debating the format the story should take, either a novel or a screenplay, ending up writing a "novel for television".[1]

Release and reception

Storm of the Century aired on ABC on February 14–18, 1999. It was released on DVD on June 22 the same year.[2]

The miniseries was well received by critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes counts six positive out of eight reviews.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Introduction", Storm of the Century, Stephen King (ISBN 978-0965796934)
  2. ↑ Baxley, Craig R. (director), King, Stephen (writer) (June 22, 1999). Storm of the Century (DVD). Lions Gate. ISBN 1573625779.
  3. ↑ "Stephen King's 'Storm of the Century' (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 19, 2015.

External links

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