The miniseries The Stand was one of the most impactful pieces of media to truly mess up my mind and inform my sense of horror. Released in 1994, really the only way to watch the series previously in the modern era was via Netflix or on old VHS tapes. In short, you could watch it but the playback was undoubtedly 90’s viewing. That was until CBS decided to remaster the series and release it on Blu ray.
For those who have never read the massively epic book by Stephen King or watched the film, the story follows the accidental release of a military created virus known as Captain Trips. When there is a containment breach at its small facility in California. A military police officer grabs his family and runs, spreading the disease across the country. The disease rapidly spreads across the United States, killing 99% of the population. The remaining survivors divide into two camps; good and evil. They end up in a final show down. The series stared a ton of major actors at the time: Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, Gary Sinese, Ruby Dee, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo and a ton of others. The series is made up of four super creepy parts.
One of the coolest comparisons you can do with the Blu ray is watch “The Making of The Stand” on the special features and then start your watch of the series. You will immediately see how much work went into the remastering of this movie. It looks like a completely different miniseries.
My one suggestion is to not watch the remastered version of The Stand while home sick. I made this mistake so you don’t have to have the same level of pure anxiety panic I did.
Stephen King’s The Stand is available now.
