I agree with some of the other reviewers, definitely one of the better (non Darabont) King movies.

terrifying, but also kinda bad.

Maine is fucked.

This scared the shit out of me when I was younger. Colm Feore is absolutely awesome as "the absolute evil", the rest is almost forgotten by now. There's a couple of "Oh shit, did he really do that?" moments, but mostly because I was horrified, not because I cared about the victims.

Typical TV fare but there's at least one good performance (Feore) and there is some good horror imagery sprinkled throughout.

74.250

Despite an all-too-predictable climax and ending (which is unfortunate considering its length), this is very good for a made-for-TV movie - which just adds to the confusion I have over whether Stephen King actually knows how to write a good screenplay or not.

One of the best King adaptations

Guess the Stephen King movie: Creepy supernatural guy comes to small town and people start dying mysteriously. Everyone believes it's the end of the world and it's up to one guy to save the townsfolk. Answer: Every Stephen King movie (ok, slight exaggeration).

Writer/producer Stephen King recycles so many of his usual ideas, themes, and stock characters that he ought to get a good spanking for this one

Didn't age well. You'd think this is a movie from the late 80's.

Colm Feore is amazing is the villain in this miniseries, and I wish he'd had more scenes or his powers fleshed out a bit more over the course of the show because every scene with him was great. Overall a pretty good watch.

Has a wonderfully charismatic villain, the vampire Linoge, who upbraids the small town denizens by pointing out their hypocrisies, secrets, and scandals. Only the tough, moral local sheriff dares stand up to him. The premise, set-up, and his speeches are great. Sadly though, like other mini-series adopted from King's work, it becomes very boring and repetitive, with the constant chatter going round and round with no resolution until the very end. Very entertaining, but could have been more.

In my opinion, this is one of the better miniseries spun by Stephen King. The characters and setting are all familiar (a small town in Maine!) as are the villains (ageless, shamanistic men), but the story itself rises above these. The suspense builds to a decent degree, and the denouement is both unexpected and satisfying in its grimness. Highly recommended for King fans.