An amazing movie.
Stars
Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald,
Rob Lowe, Jamey Sheridan, and Laura San Giacomo.
Warning - spoilers below.
A summary of the movie:
Episode 1 - The Plague
In the
California desert, a
top-secret government testing lab suddenly has a major
containment
breach. A
deadly, flu-like virus has been unleashed and the one man who could stop the spread of the
disease has fled the compound with his family. He gets only as far as a small town in
Texas where the
military sets out to stop the
epidemic by rounding up as many townspeople
as they can and flying them to a disease-control lab in
Vermont. But it is a
losing cause. Thousands of people are dying. There are sudden warnings
of a "darkman" who will take over the world. A few people, however,
seem strangely immune: Stu Redman (
Gary Sinise), one of the Texas
residents; Fran Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald), a young
pregnant woman in
Maine, and her friend, Harold Lauder (Corin Nemec); Larry Underwood
(Adam Storke), a
rock singer in
New York; and Nick Andros (
Rob Lowe), a
deaf-mute hitchhiking
through
Arkansas. Nick is having strange dreams about an elderly black woman, Mother Abigail
(Ruby Dee), who is beckoning him to join her in
Nebraska. Meanwhile, in
Arizona, a failed robbery
attempt leads to the first apparition of the "darkman," Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan). In Vermont,
Stu Redman is also having dreams about Mother Abigail. When he realizes that everyone else in the
compound is dead, Stu sets out to find this
mysterious woman who is beckoning him. The
journey has
begun.
Episode 2 - The Dreams
The
deadly virus has now spread
coast-to-coast. In
Maine, Fran Goldsmith is burying her father. She
and her friend Harold both find they are dreaming of Mother Abigail. Larry Underwood is wandering
the
deserted streets of
New York when he encounters Nadine Cross (Laura San Giacomo) who, like
him, has had visions of Mother Abigail. In
Indiana, a
pyromaniac, "Trashcan Man" (Matt Frewer), is
setting afire everything he can find. He is having dreams about his new
savior, the "darkman," Randall
Flagg. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, Mother Abigail is awaiting the arrival of
those who will join her in creating a new world. Around the country,
survivors are beginning to find each other. Stu Redman finds Glen Bateman
(Ray Walston) and they later join up with Fran and Harold. In
Oklahoma,
Nick Andros encounters Tom Cullen (Bill Fagerbakke), a mildly retarded
man who quickly finds a soul mate in Nick. Together they have a run-in
with a young woman, Julie (Shawnee Smith), whom they find so
frightening
that they leave her behind. Larry and Nadine are still traveling together, but Nadine is suddenly having
strong dreams about Randall Flagg. His pull is too compelling: She heads for Las Vegas where Flagg
is setting up his
community. But slowly, those called by Mother Abigail are reaching Nebraska. She
and her new flock are ready to make a stand.
Episode 3 - The Betrayal
Las Vegas has now become the
headquarters for Randall Flagg's
evil clan. Meanwhile, Mother
Abigail has taken her growing band of followers to Boulder, Colorado. Stu Redman and Fran
Goldsmith have become lovers, which
outrages Harold and makes him easy prey for Flagg. Mother
Abigail begins to organize a council of
leaders, and slowly some semblance of
normal life starts to return. A new arrival in Boulder is Nadine Cross. No one
knows that Randall Flagg has been priming Nadine to exert his influence on
Mother Abigail's followers. The
council decides to send out spies to see what
Flagg is up to, choosing people unlikely to raise much suspicion. In Nevada, one
of the spies, Tom Cullen, slips into Flagg's camp. Because Tom is
retarded, he is
easily
accepted. Back in Boulder, Nadine, at Flagg's urging, has taken up with
Harold, who is still fuming about the
romance between Stu and Fran. Nadine
causes Harold to
commit a
horrible crime, which results in the deaths of many
people. Mother Abigail knows it is time for the final stand against Flagg, and selects four men headed
by Stu Redman to lead the charge against the
purveyor of evil.
Episode 4 - The Stand
Two sets of travelers are heading west: Nadine and Harold, and the group selected by Mother
Abigail to face down Randall Flagg. Nadine has been told by Flagg to
ditch Harold. Doomed to
obey
his commands, she quickly does. In Nevada, Flagg can identify all the spies but
one: Tom Cullen remains a mystery to him. But Tom's
identity is revealed to
Flagg by Julie, the girl Tom and Nick had earlier
deserted. Flagg is pleased, but
a bigger problem erupts. Nadine, who had become his
personal woman,
suddenly turns against him. Soon, others begin to
rebel against Flagg. Back in
Boulder, Fran, who is about to give birth, is having dreams that show Stu to be
in great danger. Actually, Stu and the others sent to
confront Flagg are still alive,
but Stu has been
badly hurt and is left behind as they get closer to Flagg's camp.
When the rest of the team arrives in Las Vegas, Flagg captures them and gathers
his followers to watch their
demise. But the death and destruction Flagg has inflicted has taken its toll:
A
rebellion against him is about to break out. The stand against
evil predicted by Mother Abigail is
about to be realized and, with the birth of Fran's child in Boulder, the renewal of
mankind begins.