Storm of the Century (1999)

Storm of the Century is a 1999 horror miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley.

It is based on the first screenplay of Stephen King for a miniseries of the same name. The screenplay for Storm of the Century was published on February 1, 1999 in advent of the television premiere. The book is still in print.

Plot
The plot centres around an island in the West Coast in the fictitious town of Little Tall island in the year 1989. It is told by the protagonist Mike Anderson.

A very powerful blizard affects it. It is also called The Storm of the Century. While trying to deal with the storm, a man called Andre Linoge appears and begins to kill people while the island is isolated from the rest of the world because of the storm. He is a menace for everyone, because he also knows the townspeople´s darkest secrets. Even while he is in jail, put there by the constable Mike Anderson, he kills and breaks out of it, when it suits him to show the islanders, they can´t stop him, because he has supernatural powers, that enable him to kill even when he is inside the prison. His words are always "Give me what I want and I will go away".

Interestingly, although the adults are terrified of the stranger, all the children are drawn to him and he manages to put them into a forced sleep. In a dream, the townspeople see themselves walking into the sea two-by-two with the word Croatoan (a reference to the colony of Roanoke) carved on their heads. Eventually, Mike figures out that Linoge is the demon Legion (the former an anagram of the latter) and eventually agrees to organize the townspeople so they can hear his demands, when he demands it.

There Linoge explains, that he desires an heir, one of the eight small children that he had incapacitated early on in the miniseries. He comes for the purpose of wanting a child from the community there. Otherwise he will kill them all and kill the rest by making them go to the sea with the dead children leaving therefore the town deserted, like he did with Roanoke.

Over Mike's arguments, who refuses to give in to his demand, the town gives into it, including his wife Molly Anderson. A random drawing is organized by Linoge, and, after drawing, the single black-colored wielding stone, Ralph Anderson (Mike's and Molly's son) is chosen. At that, Linoge removes Ralphie from the town over Mike's and Molly's emotional breakdowns. Mike breaks with the town and his wife Molly because of what they did.

The epilogue reveals, that Mike, angry that the town and his wife had sacrificed his child to appease pure evil, divorces Molly and leaves the town five months later, who covers up what happened. He never returned. Later several townspeople die, because of the after-effects of what happened. Mike, meanwhile, is working as a federal marshal stationed in San Francisco. There, on a busy street, he spots Linoge and Ralphie, who has become a teenager in the meantime. In this confrontation he has to realise, that his son is no longer human and that he has become like Linoge, lost forever for him.

In a closing voiceover, Mike says he considered calling Molly to tell her about it, but "in the daylight, I know better.". It is implied, that the island and the people there have now become only a memory for him, condemned to disappear in time because of what happened.

Cast

 * Tim Daly as Constable Michael "Mike" Anderson
 * Debrah Farentino as Molly Anderson
 * Dyllan Christopher as Ralph Emerick "Ralphie" Anderson
 * Colm Feore as Andre Linoge
 * Jeffrey DeMunn as Robert "Robbie" Beals
 * Nada Despotovich as Sandra "Sandy" Beals
 * Spencer Breslin as Donny Beals
 * Denis Forest as Kirk Freeman
 * Nicky Guadagni as Jenna Freeman
 * Casey Siemaszko as Alton "Hatch" Hatcher
 * Soo Garay as Melinda Hatcher
 * Skye McCole Bartusiak as Pippa Hatcher

Production
The screenplay for the miniseries was written by Stephen King expressly for television and he personally selected Craig R. Baxley to direct the miniseries.

Once everything was prepared, the filming began. It began on February 1998 and ended on May 1998. It was filmed in the United States, specifically in Maine and San Francisco, California, and in Canada, specifically in Manitoba and Toronto, Ontario.

Once it was fully filmed, the miniseries was aired on ABC on February 14–18, 1999.

Reception
The miniseries was very successful and well received by critics.