Storm Of The Century is easily Stephen King’s most underrated miniseries. Stephen King is one of the most famous authors in the world, and it didn’t take long for Hollywood to start adapting his novels. Beginning with Brian De Palma’s version of Carrie, most of his work – including his short stories – have been turning into movies, with the most notable being Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption.
One issue with adapting King’s more sprawling books is they don’t make a good fit for movies. These epic tomes are better suited to a miniseries, such as 1994’s The Stand. At the peak of his popularity, fans wouldn’t have to wait long for the latest King movie or miniseries, as multiple adaptations of his work would arrive every year. Of course, not every miniseries was worth waiting for, such as the famously poor adaptation of The Langoliers or The Tommyknockers.
One of the best Stephen King miniseries is 1999’s Storm Of The Century, which is sadly seldom mentioned anymore. This series isn’t based on a King novel, with the author instead penning an original script. The story takes place on Little Tall Island – which is also the setting of King’s Dolores Claiborne – which is cut off by a powerful blizzard. That’s when a stranger with demonic powers named Andre Linoge (Colm Feore, The Umbrella Academy) arrives and starts terrorizing the locals. He knows their darkest secrets and can drive people to commit suicide, and he repeatedly states “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away.”
While Linoge’s origins are never spelled out, Storm Of The Century reveals he’s a powerful but ancient demon, and he demands the town willingly give him a child he can raise as his protege. If they refuse, he says he’ll wipe out the entire island, and claims he was responsible for the real-life mass disappearance at Roanoke Island. The island, including protagonist Mike (Tim Daly, Madam Secretary) are forced to vote for which child they’ll hand over to Linoge – naturally, this leads to a tragic ending.
Storm Of The Century has a rich, foreboding atmosphere, and Feore’s Linoge makes for a truly memorable villain. For a four-hour miniseries, it never feels like its dragging, and the finale is a memorably haunting one. While certain miniseries like Salem’s Lot or 1990’s IT are still fondly remembered, Storm Of The Century appears to have been mostly forgotten. Fans of Stephen King should seek it out, however, since it features one of his best villains and the author has claimed its one of his personal favorite miniseries.
