Timothy Daly, Colm Feore, Debrah Farentino

"Give me what I want and I'll go away," demands the black-eyed, stocking-capped stranger Linoge (Colm Feore), who appears in a quiet island community on the verge of the worst storm in decades and bru...( read more  read more... )tally bludgeons an old lady to death. Tim Daly, the town sheriff and voice of reason and moral strength, locks up the quiet madman, but the deaths pile up as Linoge acts them out from his cell like a murderous mime pulling psychic strings. Stephen King, whose original teleplay is his best work for the screen since The Stand, transforms the sleepy burg into a Peyton Place of guilty secrets and criminal activity ripped from under a blanket of small town normality while the white-out of the snowstorm completely cuts them off from civilization. Director Craig R. Baxley nicely maintains an icy tension while the waiting game goes on, perhaps a little too long, before Linoge finally reveals "what he wants" and the drama turns into a struggle for man's soul in miniature. The more ambitious special effects and set pieces sometimes disappoint but are more than made up for in King's knack for turning the mundane into the macabre (the children's song "I'm a Little Teapot" has never sounded more sinister) and a few brilliantly realized sequences, the best of which occurs when townspeople are literally yanked out of existence while watching the storm. Storm of the Century is one of the most successful translations of King's brand of horror to the screen. --Sean Axmaker

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78% liked it

17,276 ratings

PG-13, 248 min.

Directed by: Craig R. Baxley

Release Date: February 14, 1999

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DVD Release Date: June 22, 1999

Stats: 846 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (846)


  • March 11, 2009
    Hell yeah! Awesome to watch in the middle of a rain storm. =)
  • October 3, 2007
    this is my fav King made for TV out of all of them. Oh my gosh what awesome plot and what the heck would you do? I totally enjoyed all the twist and turns and I thought the cast was brilliant
  • April 20, 2007
    Craig R. Baxley seems to have taken up the mantle previously held by Mick Garris -- that of lame-ass director for Stephen King TV adaptations.
  • October 27, 2006
    Makes you think twice about the storms we have. Still love Stephen King!
  • September 14, 2006
    Excellent mini-series is all the better because it doesn't have a book that we're comparing it to the entire time (unlike many other King television projects.) Colm Feore is at his best.
  • November 22, 2009
    great movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • October 19, 2009
    Dark and fascinating!, Love it!
    "Born In Lust Turn To Dust, Born In Sin Come On In"
  • October 6, 2009
    the book was good, from what i remember
  • September 9, 2009
    Add a review (optional)...
  • July 28, 2009
    This movie scares me shitless! Just hearing a little kid sing "I'm a little tea pot short and stout here is my handle here is my stout" freaks me out!

    The acting is great. They really seem like that Maine style small towner. I love the plot, and the who horror of it. It's a w...( read more)onderful movie that should be seen even if your love for stephen king isn't as developed as mine. :D

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  • dotgirl14
    June 24, 2009
    It was a intriguing story and movie. But the ending completely disappointed me. And what still really bugs me is what is that guy? A vampire? A demon? And what was Linoge's purpose? I know what his purpose was at the island. But what I mean is what does he do? Before he came to the island what was he doing? Working for Satan? Delivering mail? I mean seriously. What is the guy gonna do with his "purpose" from the island?(trying not to give away the movie for people who haven't seen it) It just frustrates me. If anyone has an answer for me please let me know.
  • gizmawy
    May 3, 2008
    one of the stephen kings great novels and great making by craig baxley brings to us over 4 hour film and when u watch its just one hour .the movie has some genuinely frightening scenes in it, and the strength of this movie lies in its mystery.

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Storm of the Century Trivia


  • Name the movie that has this tagline: "Give me what I want and I'll go away"  Answer »
  • Andre Linoge in Storm of the Century tells us " Hell is..." ?  Answer »
  • " Born in lust, turn to dust. Born in sin, come on in." What movie ( which was a t.v. mini series) did Colm Feore repeatedly say this line?  Answer »
  • In the movie Storm Of The Century based on the book by Stephen King, what did Andre Linoge say that he wanted at the end of the movie?  Answer »

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