Stephen King Lists This Wintery Chiller That’s Streaming Now as His Favorite Screen Adaptation of His Work
I was more than a little surprised to learn that Stephen King’s favorite screen rendering of his literary output isn’t an adaptation of one of his novels. No, it’s actually a miniseries based on an original teleplay the author wrote. If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about 1999’s Storm of the Century.
During an interview with the LA Review of Books, King fielded questions regarding his substantial output. He reflected fondly on the miniseries, saying: “My favorite thing of mine is Storm of the Century, which I thought really succeeded. It’s very much like a Friedrich Dürrenmatt play called The Visit. I just loved the way that turned out.”
Stephen King’s favorite screen rendering of his work plays out like this:
Mike Anderson, the constable of the isolated Maine island hamlet Little Tall Island, is facing the toughest challenge of his career. Not only is a devastating winter storm bearing down on his community, but it also brings with it one Andre Linoge, a sinister stranger. Linoge, who may just be the devil incarnate, has an uncanny knowledge of all of the town’s dark secrets, and he uses that knowledge to drive some of the locals to murder and suicide. With each horrific event, Linoge repeats his demand: ‘Give me what I want and I’ll go away.’ What he wants, however, is more horrifying still.
King has previously referred to the project as “a novel for television.” That’s an interesting approach and it clearly worked.
I can see why this one represents a sweet spot for him. The Cujo author wrote the script himself, unlike a lot of adaptations of his work. And it’s a miniseries, so the story has more time to unfold than is generally allotted for a feature film. Moreover, the project was helmed by Craig R. Baxley, who directed the B-movie cult classic Stone Cold, among other noteworthy efforts.
If you’ve overlooked this acclaimed offering thus far, fear not. Storm of the Century is now available to stream on Hulu. And there’s no better time of year than now to experience it. The flick gives serious winter vibes. It is set during a blizzard, after all.
That’s all we have for you at present, dear reader. Stay tuned to Dread Central for more exciting updates as we uncover them. If you’d like to keep up with my comings and goings, come find me on Threads @FunWithHorror.
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