Read more about Andre Linoge at: Wikipedia

Official Site: Stephen King

Storm of the Century, alternatively known as Stephen King's Storm of the Century, is a 1999 horror TV miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Promotional material for the miniseries claimed that it was King's first ever story written exclusively for a miniseries, but was actually his second after the not as well known Golden Years. King would later publish the screenplay in book form, with the screenplay format intact. The movie is rated PG-13.

A very powerful blizzard hits the fictional small town of Little Tall Island (also the setting of King's novel Dolores Claiborne) off the coast of Maine. This storm is so powerful that all access off the island is blocked, and no one is able to leave the island, until the storm is over. While trying to deal with the storm, the citizens of the town are visited by Andre Linoge (Colm Feore), a menacing stranger who apparently knows all of the townsfolk's darkest secrets (among which are abortion, adultery, growing marijuana, and gay-bashing). After having killed one of the town's residents, Linoge is jailed. Even though he is kept in jail by the town's trusted constable, Mike Anderson (Timothy Daly), Linoge is somehow able to force people to commit suicide or kill others from within his cell. Linoge constantly repeats "Give me what I want and I'll go away" through his victims as well as to his victims. Interestingly, although the adults are terrified of the stranger, all the children are drawn to him.

In a dream, the townspeople see themselves walking into the sea two-by-two with the word Croatoan (a reference to the colony of Roanoke) carved on their heads. Eventually, Mike finds out that Linoge is an anagram of the demon Legion and agrees to organize the townspeople so they can hear his demands. .

What Linoge desires is an heir, one of eight children that he had incapacitated early on in the miniseries — someone to "carry on his work when he can no longer do it himself", although Linoge's life spans millennia, he is not immortal. Any of the eight children, he states, will suit him. He states that he cannot simply take one of children. They must be given. But he can punish the residents if they refuse him. He states that if the townsfolk do not give him a child he will kill them all, presumably by marching them into the sea as they had seen in their dream. Linoge implies that he had done the same before at Roanoke when those colonists had refused his demands. He insists that the child will be well looked after and will live on for a far longer time than they would have otherwise. After he leaves, a strong argument breaks out in the town hall. Mike Anderson wants the townsfolk to unitedly reject Linoge's request, saying it would be better for all of the adults and children to die than to give Linoge a child to raise. Mike asks "how can they give a child to that man?" His argument, however, falls upon deaf ears, as the townspeople not only fear Linoge, but also fear the possibilities of Linoge killing the children (as Ursula says about her daughter, "Better she live with a bad man than be dead"). After they vote almost unanimously (except for Mike) to accept Linoge's demand, he has one parent of each child draw a magical stone from a bag he has (the stones seen earlier in Ralphie's possession). The child selected is Ralph Anderson, and after contemptuously thanking the town, he departs, assuming in the process his ancient form. Mike chases after him before falling on his knees outside the church, to no avail.

CBUB Match Record: