It's a traditional haunted house story built around a rich and intriguing history inspired by real life events, or at the very least real life fiction. It creates, and for a long time sustains, a suitably uneasy atmosphere that keeps the viewer attentive even during the lengthy exposition scenes. It's only in the last half of the third part that it begins to fall back on the cheap-shot, shock scares that any fool with a camera can do.
There's a large cast of characters, but King is experienced enough to give each of them their own space in the narrative. Two thirds have some kind of psychic ability, and while one or two do feel like they were included simply to offer commentary from a different perspective, he gives each one a unique personality and uses them to reinforce the story at opportune moments throughout. If they've nothing constructive (or confrontational) to add to a scene, they're pushed into the background so they don't intrude.
The house itself is also a character. The anachronistic hybrid of classic and experimental architecture sets it apart from the surrounding environment; it's as if the world outside decided it didn't want Rose Red any more, so it turned its back on her. But she didn't go away. She endured. She festered. She got hungry.
King started revisions on the script, originally intended to be a movie, shortly after his near-death accident. It was around that time that he began to more forcibly try to connect all his fictional works into one cohesive whole, meaning fans of his writing will see similarities and subtle references to earlier works.
3 episodes, approx 80 minutes each.
A prequel TV Movie called The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer was made in 2003 but it wasn't written by King. You can read about it HERE.
3½ dormant cells out of 5
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