Stephen King’s Storm of the Century (1999) / Z-View
Storm of the Century (1999)
Director: Craig R. Baxley
Screenplay: Stephen King
Stars: Tim Daly, Debrah Farentino, Colm Feore, Jeffrey DeMunn, Casey Siemaszko and Stephen King
Tagline: Give him what he wants and he’ll go away.
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
As the residents of the small remote Little Tall Island off the coast of Maine, prepare for a blizzard that is predicted to be the storm of the century, a murderer is discovered sitting in a chair, eating cookies next to the corpse of the old woman that he beat to death with a cane. Mike Anderson (Daly), store owner and part-time constable and his deputy bring the stranger in to the jail cell located in the back of Anderson’s store. Because of the storm, all transportation to the island is shut down. They’ll have to hold him until the storm passes.
The man gives his name as André Linoge (Feore). He tells Anderson and those watching, “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away.” Linoge has information about Anderson and others that no one could possibly know. He also seems to have ability to make folks do things against their will. When two people commit suicide and “Give me what I want and I’ll go away” is found written beside them, they start to believe that Linoge is a demon. As the storm worsens, Linoge displays more powers, inflicting hallucinations and causing people to commit murder. If they give Linoge what he wants, will he really go away? And what could he possibly want?
Storm of the Century is a three part mini-series that creates a slow burn as we’re introduced to Linoge and come to realize that he may be more than an evil man. Tim Daly was excellent as the level-headed, moral part time constable/store owner. Jeffrey DeMunn was perfect as the unlikable town manager. Equally as good was Colm Feore as the menacing André Linoge. As a viewer, you cannot help but think about what you would do in that situation. Would you give him what he wants?
Storm of the Century earns 4 of 5 stars.
