The vast majority of Stephen King miniseries are based on a pre-existing novel or novella of his. And, for the most part, they’re ranked pretty low on retrospectives of every movie or series (mini or multi-season) that originated from his mind. Some of the multi-season shows have turned out quite well, e.g. Mr. Mercedes, but as for miniseries, for every Salem’s Lot (1979) or The Outsider there are about three of something like The Langoliers, Golden Years, or Stephen King’s Desperation. The key, as it turns out, was to craft a miniseries that was written directly for the screen by the Master of Horror.
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While Rose Red is a solid example of this, an even better one is Storm of the Century. In fact, King himself calls it his favorite TV-based project, be it one that he wrote himself or otherwise. And at 4 hours and 16 minutes, it’s the exact type of thing that can be binged in one day. Specifically, on Hulu.
A Compelling Original From King
This three-part miniseries follows the residents of a small island town in, you guessed it, Maine, as they brace for an incoming ferocious blizzard. But the weather is the least of their problems, as it seems a stranger has come to town with murder on his mind.
This is no ordinary stranger, either, as he seems to know every little dirty secret from the past of each Little Tall Island resident. Linoge is his name, and along with the ability to shapeshift into an elderly wizard fellow, he is also able to worm his way into the minds of the townspeople, turning them against one another all the while picking them off. Every time he does reduce the population by one or more, he transmits the same ominous message. He is growing old, and one of the town’s youngest residents would make for a fine protege. They can give the boy up—or all die.
Like with The Shining, the wintry setting of Storm of the Century really helps up the creepy claustrophobic factor. But that was just one thing that critics and King himself ended up loving about the miniseries. In King’s words, Storm of the Century is his “absolute favorite of them all” because he “loved Colm Feore (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) as Linose” and “loved the story.”
Feore is definitely the scene-stealer here, but Wings‘ Tim Daly leads the project with charisma, and both of them are ably supported by King adaptation vet Jeffrey DeMunn (The Green Mile, The Mist) and I, Tonya‘s Julianne Nicholson. And, while King is known to have third acts that aren’t as strong as the first two, he knocked Storm of the Century‘s conclusion out of the park.
Stream Storm of the Century on Hulu.
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
