The synopsis of this flick, in the
case you haven’t yet read or watched it, begins with a plague that destroys
mankind. And while one might think that
if a ‘superflu’ (as they call it in this film…or “Captain Tripps”) were to leak in an area at this point in
time, that our government would be able to quickly quarantine the area and
prevent it from spreading worldwide, we have to admit that this could indeed be the case. Humans are flawed, and the guard that was supposed to be the last defense for
this quarantine became scared and fled the scene with his family, only to
travel halfway across the country before slamming his car into a gas station
and then dying in the arms of Stu Redman (Gary Sinise). Stu is a hero from the beginning, as he cuts
the lines to the gas just before the car takes them all out – saving everyone
in the gas station…and sparing them. For
the time being, that is. The government
quickly follows the trail of this escapee, and travels to Arnette, TX,
ready to shut down the town and quarantine anyone who came into contact with
him. Stu and friends get taken to a
government facility and are put under close watch. But just before they are taken, a cop comes
into town to tell them what is going on…and lies to the dispatcher over the
waves as to his whereabouts, further spreading this already infectious disease
and once again showing the weakness of man.
We meet other important characters along the way, including a deaf-mute named
Nick Andros, a girl named Franny Goldsmith and her good friend Harold Lauder, a
mentally disabled man called Tom Cullen, a slick city-kid crooner named Larry
Underwood and many…many more. This is
quite the epic tale, and most characters that we come to know as surviving this
major plague have integral parts in the outcome of the final battle. The survivors begin having very vivid dreams,
one is of an elderly African American woman named Abigail Freemantle, “But
people around these parts call me Mother Abigail.” Mother Abigail tells them all to come see her
as soon as they can, and to bring along their friends. The other side of these dreams, however, are
guided by Randal Flag. An instrument of
supreme evil, Flag attempts to grab anyone he can with promises of everything
they could ever want as long as they follow him without question. When I first became familiar with the story,
I couldn’t decide fully if Flag was actually the Devil or if he was simply a
demon – but all evidence that I can see points to him being the actual Devil. He’s even called “His Infernal Majesty” by a
character at one point, which was one of the things that solidified my opinion
on this matter.
Anyway, the characters begin to
split between Boulder and Las Vegas, and prepare to face off. Mother Abigail is self-proclaimed to be in
touch with God, and it does appear that she is as she is well aware that the
survivors are heading toward Hemingford Home to meet her and continue on to Boulder. Throughout the movie, God guides the ‘good’
side through Mother Abigail, and Flag guides the side of the wicked. The good guys do absolutely everything they
can do to stop the evil that is leashed upon them, ending in the final Stand
between a few of the Boulder friends who have traveled into Nevada unarmed and
without anything but the clothes on their backs. After they are captured, there is a
particularly wonderful conversation between Flag and Glen Bateman (an elderly
painter, one of the good guys) where the old man shows his loyalty to mankind
and laughs in the devils face – this old dude sure had some stones! There’s several references to both pop
culture (Rolling Stones, anyone?) and more than one reference to the Bible
(pride cometh before the fall, Stuart!!!), and both are weaved throughout this
tale to punctuate the story and give it some reality where there is much
mysticism. I won’t tell you how the
story ends, but I will say again that this is one absolutely epic tale that
should definitely not be missed by anyone who is a fan of horror. Even if you don’t believe in the Christianity
theology, this story is one that can be appreciated and admired – and the
conception of a plague being the catalyst to the end of the world as we know it
is simply genius.
And the review. I’ll start with the cast – what an absolutely
brilliant lineup! Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald,
Jamey Sheridan, Ruby Dee, Miguel Ferrer, Corin Nemec, Matt Frewer, Adam Storke,
Ray Walston, Rob Lowe, and more…it may not be an ‘all star’ cast, but every
single part was played beautifully by the actors and it is clear to me that
they were all invested in the story and wanted to make Mr. King proud. The cinematography is smooth, and though it
is definitely not blu-ray quality, the shots are clean and there isn’t
inappropriate camera-shaking or anything that makes the viewer feel as though they
are spinning around on a carnival ride.
Obviously everyone is already aware of my feelings on this epic plot, so
no need to go there. I will say that I
thought the ending scene was particularly cheesy, as I don’t know anyone
(especially anyone with world-saving capabilities) is going to wave and make
gestures at a baby that clearly has her eyes closed. C’mon now.
That could’ve been done better, especially after the build up and climax
of this story. But I guess if that is my
only complaint concerning the film, then I’ll live. The soundtrack is alright, but sometimes not
particularly memorable. The story is
what matters here. What are the stats on
this, you ask? Here we go: How many deaths? Well…the world, for the most part, so that is
pretty intense! But as for the core
group? A whopping seven (possibly eight,
I might have missed one in there) of them bite it during the course of the
film. Killers? About eight, if you count the men who spread
the disease in the first place. So this
was pretty even with the amount of core deaths in this one. Boobs?
None, but there are some pretty racy scenes so you probably want to
screen this yourself before the kiddos watch.
Cheap Thrills? None. Actual thrills? Around four.
But honestly it’s chilling to see all the dead bodies in stores,
churches, and lined up on the highway throughout the films entirety. Buckle up, fiends. Raven’s Scream Meter says? Five out of five Screams. While it isn’t a movie the whole family can
get down with (or maybe it is, depending on your family!), this is absolutely
one of the better horror films made. Thanks again for reading my fiends, and please keep on the lookout for more movies based on King's work on the mad scientists review table this week! xx ~ Raven
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