A small New England island village is about to be hit by the worst winter storm in decades, but that won't be their only problem: with the snow comes a mysterious stranger who knows all about them and seeks only one thing . . . but dare they give it to him?
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The long and short of it is this: I love the miniseries and think it's among the best King movies ever made. From the beginning the atmosphere was amazing. The dark and the snow and the feeling of isolation was complete and terrifying by itself. The addition of a dangerous stranger only made it more so. Aside from a few minor things snow-related, like the lack of visible breath and how they didn't track a soppy mess inside after being out in the storm, I thought it was very realistic looking. The use of instant potato flakes as snow was not only better for the wildlife in Southwest Harbor, but it actually looked good. Some real snow made an appearance as well during a small snow storm that occurred during filming. Linoge is indeed a frightening character. His expressions, or lack of them, completely made the movie. Even if every other actor was a complete incompetent, I think Colm Feore's evil appearance would have made up for a lot. Fortunately, the other cast members were also great. Tim Daly did a wonderful job as Mike Anderson and Becky Ann Baker as Ursula Godsoe was right on the money. The only person I could really gripe about is Jeffrey DeMunn as Robbie Beals. His accent was especially bad and even though he was supposed to be annoying, he annoyed me even more than I would have thought possible . . . and not all of it was the character. He just seemed to be overacting quite a bit in the earlier scenes. It didn't seem as bad by the third night however. As for the story itself, it discusses one of the most difficult decisions a person can make. If the devil comes to visit and makes threats, do you give him what he wants or do you doubt his power and take the high road? For the purposes of this particular review what he wants isn't really important. It's a matter of choosing your faith. Is it easier to believe in the devil you do see or the god you don't? And if the devil promises you something, can you trust him to keep the promise? Suspense builds as we try to figure out what he does want. The storm becomes worse. People are dying. What do you do? The result is a horrifying and disturbing turn of events. I believe this movie takes us on a journey into humanity and what pushes our buttons and might make us do things we'd otherwise not consider. The director, Craig R. Baxley, was someone I'd never heard of, but he has a long line of television credits and did a fantastic job with this miniseries. He captured that which scares us in so many ways. I also applaud ABC for taking a risk with this series. It's not your usual network fare. When you see it, you'll understand what I mean by that. It's a daring look into the psyche of the small island town and into us all. A look many of us don't want to see or can't accept, but a valid and very realistic look nonetheless. (Oct 4, 1999) | |||
This was the first story Stephen King wrote for the screen, large or small.
