I'm a writer, but never would I dream of ever, EVER putting myself in any category with dark, brooding Mr. King. And while I've fallen incredibly behind over the last five years in his novels, I never fail to catch one here or there that forces me to smack myself in the head.

Duh! Why didn't I think of that!

Well, that's easy to answer, because King is THE MASTER. He has this incredibly profound method of drawing us so deep into the souls of his characters that there is no possible escape. We know these people, we are these characters, and page by page we dwell. Even when we reach the last sentence, with white space beneath, we can't help but wonder...what do they do now?

How are they doing?

What was the day after like?

We can't let them go...

I hadn't even heard of Storm of the Century until my step-dad bought the dvd and offered it to myself and my hubby for some late night viewing.

"You will absolutely love this," He replied, trying to give us a gist of the storyline without ruining anything. But this was one of those movies that no amount of "rumination" over the plot would have prepared me for the disturbing ending.

This is certainly one of those movies (or books) you have to read(watch), no one can simply give you a run down that you'll walk away understanding.

Storm of the Century has a theme that is liken to King himself.

What does he want?

What does the menace in this movie want? What does King want from his readers? Book to book, movie to movie, you just never know what Stephen is going to produce.

Case in point, The Green Mile.

Was it horror? Was it a soap opera? How do you categorize stories that have so many twists and turns? Does King want us to cry, scream, laugh...?

King writes with a twist that I wish I could repeat. Splendid in his method of bringing the most natural of human "nature" in a storyline bent with sci-fi. How else to explain the general theme of "bad" guys in King's stories?

We are so lost and compelled by the humans, the every-day Joes, that we are tempted, no not tempted, we completely forget that there is fantasy at work here.

Which brings me back to Storm of the Century - a movie that requires quite a bit of patience - it has this irritating recurrent theme that persists to swim in your mind, beckoning you to fast forward the movie or else resort to pulling out your hair.

What does this guy want? What does this guy want? What does this guy want??

The question is torturing to the characters, it is maddening to the viewer. Generally, we are allotted something of an idea as to the "why" in a story. Why is the actions that are taking place happening...we've got an idea. But Storm of the Century leaves you blind. You start looking wildly for hints...wanting to rewind to see what you missed. Something lingering in the back of a scene, a word or two someone has spoken...did you miss something important when you sneezed or blinked...had to have missed something to be this lost?

Exhausting in its slowness I was drawn, kept within the movie, by the theme, that drilling question. Which is what makes King and the director of this story, masters at their job. Else-wise I would have flipped this movie off after the first thirty minutes, I may have even given it an hour, if there hadn't been that tasty morsel keeping my eyes locked, my ears wide...

What does this guy want???

It's driving me insane!!!

And at the end, when you finally realize the answer to the question, you don't know whether to be relieved that you finally know or horrified, wishing you hadn't asked.

While your mind is locking up with the dual between relief and horror, you are suddenly shocked with a new question...

What would I do??

There is that admittance that several King movies and made-for-tv movies don't have the same appeal on screen as on paper...but this is one of those rare occurrences where the screen makes you silently scream with delight and fright.


Rating this film is still rather difficult.

There is not a lot of action, as the scenery and style is meant to evoke a sleepy, growing terror within the viewer.
And while there is certainly a horror theme here, it is nothing in the line of blood and guts gruesomeness that you feel it necessary to turn your head away...rather it is a long drawn scream of anticipation as the body count grows. Because we know with each death perhaps...maybe...we'll get an answer.






Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age