I've always been a fan of this story, and part of the reason is its simplicity. Even with the supernatural horror, this is -- similar to The Mist -- really about the horrors of humanity. How people turn on each other when the power goes out and lives are lost.

It also has one of the most devastating endings of King's work. Not only the level of Cujo or Pet Sematary, but not far off, either. ( )

I wish this was a novel and not just a TV movie. ( )

A small island off the coast of Maine, Little Tall Island, is expecting a very bad winter storm. Before the storm actually starts hitting, a man enters the home of an old lady and kills her, then sits in her rocking chair watching TV.
A young boy is walking by the home and sees the front door open. He proceeds to enter the home and makes the discovery. He runs and informs the authorities about it.
The storm of the century is proceeding and other nasty things take place while the islanders are trying to prepare and protect themselves from the ravages, not just from the storm.
This is written as a screenplay and it is really neat to envision the things taking place.

I am a huge Stephen King fan, just don't know that this is one of my favorites. There is a lot of violence and not a lot of understanding of why that is happening. ( )

Andre Linoge has come to Little Tall Island just as the fiercest winter storm in recorded history is about to hit. After murdering one of the residents, Linoge waits calmly to be taken into police custody by Constable Mike Anderson. But once in his cell he tells the townsfolk, "If you give me what I want, I'll go away." Then things start to happen, secrets are revealed and more people die, and suddenly the citizens of Long Tall Island are ready to agree to Linoge's proposition even before they know exactly what it is he wants. What he wants is much more than they bargined for.

The ending was a complete shock. I was expecting all the townspeople to get rid of the villian somehow but they didn't and that made it more real because more often than not evil does triumph and that my friends is reality. It wasn't like a horror story either, it was more like a nightmare, the kind of thing that if it happened would be your worst fears become reality. I recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind being scared, at least once and a while.

( )

Born in sin, come on in...

To begin with, I did not like the format that this is written in, so I've dinged it a couple of stars. But I did like the story quite a bit! Having an island community cut off while a crazy man stalks its residents is pretty awesome! Linoge, the bad guy, is great! From his tag line, "If you give me what I want, I'll go away", to his song, "I'm a Little Teapot", to his silver wolf's head cane, he's just the baddest! And he knows their sins! I liked all the details, like the fairy saddle, the Roanoke/Croaton connection, and the references to Dolores Claiborne and Danny Torrance! And I loved that the ending had the character in all Oakland A's gear! I've gotta believe that if this was in a traditional novel format, I'd have 5 starred it! ( )