The Devil Wears a Mullet – Stephen King’s The Stand
By stephanie - Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
Stephen King writes good books that usually make for bad television. Usually, the first installment of the miniseries is terrific. Then, it’s all downhill from there. (Remember The Langoliers? Augh!)
The Stand, in typical King miniseries form, begins with an absolutely chilling, memorable first installment. A killer virus is let loose from a research facility. It is so deadly that people drop dead just from one whiff of it. It’s a gruesome, beautifully shot scene, with the song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” playing in the background. It’s a perfect and eerie combination of music and visuals.
It is somewhat downhill after the first installment. We have an assortment of characters – the survivors of the plague – all heading west to meet up with some ancient black woman who talks to them in their dreams. The casting is generally good, with the exception of Molly Ringwald, who is completely annoying (as usual) and doesn’t quite fit as the love interest for Stu (played by Gary Sinise).
We also find that there’s more going on than just a biological apocalypse. It’s good vs. evil, as a character named Flagg begins to corral all the bad folks to Las Vegas, where he strangely enough creates a culture where drinking and debauchery is outlawed.
Flagg – who seems to not be Satan himself but one of his henchmen – will be forever remembered for the bizarre costuming and hairstyle he’s been given: He’s dressed in blue jeans, a matching jean jacket, and a really horrible mullet. I have to admit, I find this get-up to be absolutely repulsive, so it does seem to work, strangely enough.
Other characters include the usual King assortment, including an annoying whimpering bad guy played by Corin Nemec, a crazy guy played by Matt Frewer, and a mute played by Rob Lowe. As with any King endeavor it’s typical to find some sort of retarded person with special powers, and thus we have our dear, blonde-headed nitwit, who spells everything “M-O-O-N.”
The special effects are dated by today’s standards to the point of being laughable. The ending is just bizarre and ridiculous. Some of the acting is none too great either. Yet, there’s something strangely compelling about The Stand. I can’t help but watch at least part of it when it comes on TV.
One of the outstanding aspects of the miniseries is the soundtrack. As I mentioned before, it begins with “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and climaxes with a beautiful acoustic guitar anthem that plays when the four men walk towards their destiny in the desert.
As bad as some parts can be, The Stand is still highly entertaining and is filled with great quotes. “We are dead and THIS IS HELL!” exclaims the damned Nadine, who has finally figured out she made a deal with the devil.
All in all, it could be better, but it could be worse. The final verdict?
“M-O-O-N. That spells guilty pleasure.”
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
I’m with you. It is a guilty pleasure. The other strange thing about Stephen King novel turned mini series is the abundant amount of space that seems like it could be filled with story. It’s a giant book, but there is soooo much space in the actual film I wonder why they couldn’t fill it