Directed by Mick Garris
Starring Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Rob Lowe, Laura San Giacomo, Miguel Ferrer and Bill "Patrick" Fagerbakke
I don't know if there is a single THING that defines my junior high years quite as much as The Stand. This flick was hyped up to me for months on end by a friend who watched it during its initial TV broadcast in 1994, playing it up to a legendary status that only Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter had in my mind. When ABC replayed it in the summer of '98, I was glued to the set and it didn't disappoint. It eventually whet my appetite to read the MASSIVE novel that it's based on, and as the single biggest, most epic of all King's old-school novels, it's right up there with the three or four best books I've ever read. Quite frankly, this is just an amazing story all around.
There are times where I wish I'd experienced this story the other way around. As in, reading the book first. When I paged through the 1000+ pages of the book, all of the actors' faces were pasted in my mind already. There is something to be said for letting your mind's eye be the director of any book you read, and the fact that I was picturing Molly Ringwald as Frannie Goldsmith...man, it was a real buzzkill. Thus, if you're a Stand newbie, I'd highly recommend picking up a cheapo copy of the paperback uncut edition first. Trust me - it's money well spent. But even if you ARE a newbie, there's worse ways to get into this story and Stephen King in general than this here miniseries, so let's get started.
Split into four nights and four respective sections, the film tells the long story of the end of the world. The real fun, however, occurs AFTER said massive apocalypse (which is refreshingly created using something OTHER than zombies). With that, let's take a closer look at the four individual parts.
Part 1 - "The Plague"
More or less, this is a recreation of "Book I" of the novel. The government has created a superflu virus that escapes its military base confines when a security guard bravely retreats. Before you know it, the flu is loose in the American public, spreading from person to person and killing everyone it comes into contact with. To be sure, there are LOTS of shots of people in hospital beds throughout this section of the movie, but fear not, kids, it's only an hour and a half. We're introduced to LOTS of characters as the plague wipes through humanity. Most prominent is Stu Redman (played by Gary Sinise in a pitch-perfect performance), good ol' boy from Texas who finds himself held captive in the center for disease control after showing a mysterious immunity to the illness. There's also the aforementioned Frannie Goldsmith (Ringwald in the only out-and-out casting misfire), somewhat dangerous and rebellious musician Larry Underwood (Adam Storke), deaf-mute Nick Andros (Rob Lowe) and criminal Lloyd Henreid (Miguel Ferrer), all of whom dealing with the plague in different ways. The closing bit is the highlight here, as Stu escapes his captors in a pretty damn nifty sequence.
Part 2 - "The Dreams"
Warning information for all: The Stand is very much a movie concerned with Christianity, so people uncomfortable with this, take heed. The movie is in essence a story of the final battle between good and evil, with all of the main characters immune to the superflu being "drafted" to one of the two distinct sides. How does this relate to "The Dreams?" Well, the characters are informed about which side their destiny lies via...you guessed it...dreams. There's saintly Mother Abigail (Ruby Dee, who is aces), a 106-year-old woman whose deep religious beliefs define her. And then there's Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan, who nails the book's character better than anybody could have in 1994), a kinda-sorta Antichrist/Demon who represents the bad. This section of the movie concerns every character's journey toward their destiny, with the section involving Nick and his new friend Tom Cullen (Bill Fagerbakke during his Daughber days) being the most captivating. We're also introduced to philosopher Glen Bateman (Ray Walston)...and the movie's true ace in the hole, Nadine Cross. Laura San Giacomo lends her acting talents and insane levels of hotness toward this character who becomes romantically involved with Larry, but the sinister nature of what lies beneath her character grows to become the shining star of the flick.
Part 3 - "The Betrayal"
By this point, the groups have become established in different locales. Stu, Glen, Nick and the rest of the good guys have taken up residence in Boulder, Colorado to establish the "Boulder Free Zone," while Flagg's minions are calling Las Vegas their base of operations. A good portion of Night Three involves the residents of the Free Zone attempting to form a democracy again, with Stu serving as a de facto Mayor before an entire committee of residents are elected to serve. The betrayal comes in the form of my favorite character in the novel - Harold Lauder, a gawky high school student who is in love with Frannie only to watch her walk away with Stu. Combined with being left off the committee, this dude is mighty pissed off and wants revenge, and gets that opportunity when Flagg sends his would-be bride Nadine to...uh...persuade him into doing his bidding. Corin Nemec did a decent enough job as Harold, although I do think that they could have found someone better for the role. Since so much of this part focuses on him, this is probably the least of the four chapters. Definitely not worth skipping or anything, but there's plenty of filler. Although none of that filler takes the form of Laura San Giacomo wearing sexy outfits. That stuff is amazing.
Part 4 - "The Stand"
It's time for the final battle, and that final battle comes in the form of Mother Abigail's dying wish - that four of the main characters (Stu, Glen, Larry and Oklahoma yokel Ralph Brentman) head out for Las Vegas on foot. Why? Don't question God, dummy. Director Mick Garris (who earlier helmed the Stephen King theatrical film Sleepwalkers, and would go on to direct the miniseries version of The Shining) does a great job maintaining tension throughout this segment, as parts of it are nothing short of gutwrenching. In between the four main characters walking journey, we get the true creepification of Flagg. He shows his pissed off side on a few occasions as his empire begins melting away from him, showing his true form in bits that are a little chuckle-worthy in these days of crisp, clean CGI. Fortunately for all, the final half-hour is nothing short of electric and cathartic, just as much as the book's ending was, and I've got nothing but the highest praise for this section of the flick. Very well done, and everything that I expected out of it then and now.
If it isn't apparent, I'm a big fan of this movie. Every so often, the subject of a theatrical film comes up (or God forbid a series of masturbatory films, of which I'm sure the final part would be split up into two films to bleed moviegoers for the most money possible), and I can't understand why. This nails the essence of the book better than just about anything else could have, cutting out some characters entirely, combining others, and streamlining the whole sprawling epic into something that the public could take in, interpret, and even become outright engrossed in. For a six-hour movie, there is amazingly almost nothing that drags here with the exception of some of Part 3 (Boulder Free Zone meeting, I'm looking at you). What we've got in between is an almost perfectly cast, occasionally suspenseful, and very powerful scary flick that manages to make its subject matter...well, matter.
*** 1/2 out of ****. Six hours of time that fly by, and highly recommended for any horror, fantasy, and Stephen King fans out there.
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