Storm of the Century

An interesting story that never really comes together. The ending is bleak, bizarre, and indescipherable. ( )

An interesting story that never really comes together. The ending is bleak, bizarre, and indescipherable. ( )

I remember seeing Storm of the Century (the movie) back when it first came out and really, really loving it. I've seen it a few times since then, but I'd yet to read the screenplay, so I did.

I have to say that I wasn't disappointed. I don't know if I would say that either one is better than the other... Each version brings something to the table. The movie version has creepy perfect Colm Feore, and while the book has stills from the movie, they just don't do him justice. And the movie has effects and interpretation that King left open, and in this case, because he wrote it with that in mind, it adds to the whole rather than being one of those annoying detractions from the perfect-as-is text that movie adaptations usually are. But the book has little bits of King's personality shining right through it, and the sections of information and direction, which I "heard" in King's voice (OK, not his REAL voice, but the one that I hear in my head for him - is that weird, that I replace his voice with a made-up version?) are riddled with mentions of other works (Dolores Claiborne and The Shining, for instance) and humorous asides, etc. These lighten the mood, but make us feel like we're floating along watching the action from above while the clouds narrate.

The book was definitely all King. His hands are all over this puppy. I don't know why I'm saying that like it's not obvious, but for some reason, I just felt like a screenplay would feel... different. It was like seeing everything in my head as the movie went along, which is quite possibly the point, although a lot of King's books read like movies. But this one felt different to me for another reason I'm just not really able to put my finger on. Maybe it was just the format - I'm so used to his novels and the personal feel of them that this felt like King dictating to someone else and that person writing the words in their odd and unfamiliar handwriting. Maybe I'm not making any sense at all. Could go either way.

I mean, you can see King's touch here simply in the dialogue. One example is the way that the townspeople use each other's full names as casually as they'd use nicknames. It kind of gives it a realism/informal/formality that struck me as something that is as "Maine Islander" as saying "ayuh". But this is subtle, and probably lots of people find it annoying, but I loved it... it was like a little enhancement that tipped the scales from being cliched patois to actual speech.

Moving on, I have to say that I really love the character of Andre Linoge - and no, NOT just because Colm Feore played him on TV - but because he is really, really creepy and sinister and... inevitable. He drops into these people's lives with no explanation and just starts wreaking havoc at every turn. He's horrible and cruel and evil, but he's also charming and funny and persuasive. And I will just say that I love the "Legion" reference. Legion is one of my favorite words and concepts, though that tidbit rarely makes it into everyday conversation, so when I see it I always get a little chill.

The last thing that I'll mention here is how much this story reminded me of Pet Sematary. Both stories deal with the loss of a child, and both are very bleak stories without much hope of redemption, but they are also both compelling and great stories about the choices that must be made when there are no winning outcomes. Nothing good can come of anything, but you must do something, so what do you do?

It's something worth thinking about. I'll tell you I'm not sorry to have been left out of the vote on this one, but I am glad that I read the book! :) ( )

Both the screenplay and the actual movie take their sweet time in building the story up, but patience pays off, because the eventual result is downright chilling. ( )

It has been a long, long time since I read any Stephen King novels, but consider myself to be a fan – Carrie, Salem’s Lot, Pet Semetary…some of his books have been turned into movies, some successfully (Carrie, Christine, Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Stand By Me), and some not such as Pet Semetary and Cujo.

Any way you look at it, King is the ‘king’ of horror and story telling, and this book was no exception…but this was no ordinary novel, it was in fact a screenplay for an ABC mini-series or made-for-TV movie, and there were bits in it which were typically TV, but the story, suspense, and images conjured into the mind were great. In saying that, this book had stills from the series which unfortunately ruined what I had in my head – some people won’t mind this, but for me I like to get my own impression of what towns, people, and suspense exists.

For anyone after a good horror/thriller, this is pretty good, but the book itself might be a better read (if in fact it exists as a novel), and for me it has restarted my want to read some more of his books, the last of which was Pet Semetary back at school (trust me, that was long enough ago!). ( )