• Director: Tobe Hooper
• With: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres, Julie Cobb, Elisha Cook Jr., George Dzundza, Ed Flanders, Geoffrey Lewis, Clarissa Kaye-Mason, Fred Willard, Barbara Babcock, Brad Savage, Ronnie Scribner
• Duration: 3h03
• Music by: Harry Sukman
• Studio: Warner Bros
• Rating: 7/10

Plot: (from IMDB)

The successful writer Benjamin “Ben” Mears returns to his hometown Salem’s Lot, Maine, expecting to write a new novel about the Marsten House. Ben believes that the manor is an evil house that attracts evil men since the place has many tragic stories and Ben saw a ghostly creature inside the house when he was ten. Ben finds that the Marsten House has just been rented to the antique dealers Richard K. Straker and his partner Kurt Barlow that is permanently traveling. Ben meets the divorced teacher Susan Norton that is living with her parents and they have a love affair. Ben also gets close to her father Dr. Bill Norton and his former school teacher Jason Burke. When people start to die anemic, Ben believes that Straker’s partner is a vampire. But how to convince his friends that he is not crazy and that is the truth?

Review:

This was broadcast first in 1979 as a two episode miniseries before it was released on dvd and blu-ray (probably on VHS or Betamax first 😅).

This is the only book and even movie adaptation (apart from the 2017 version of It) from a work by Stephen King where I actually got scared while reading and watching. (That Barlow dude is scary as hell! And the first edition of the novel I had was with Barlow on the front cover… gave me the creeps at night). Even now, being 45 years old, the scenes with Barlow got me jumping…

The town of ‘Salem’s Lot is a typical town from a Stephen King novel, with the right amount of characters to love and hate (the cheating wife, the abusive husband, the town’s idiot/drunk, the bully, the prodigal son, the eccentric stranger (with an antique shop… hello, Leland Gaunt!), the kids…)

It’s a recipe King uses often in his novels (some of his most famous towns in his novels are Derry where a certain clown lives/lived and Castle Rock).

For those who love the town and its lore: there’s a 2004 remake with Rob Lowe of this miniseries and in 2023 a new remake would have normally been released but so far we haven’t heard much of it anymore… and there’s the series Chapelwaite, with Adrien Brody (haven’t seen it yet!) and of course, there’s the ill-fated Return to Salem’s Lot. I can’t remember much of it… I will have to look for it soon because it should be part of my SK Movie Marathon as well…

As I said, this Salem’s Lot adaptation (released in the year I was born) is pretty scary, although Hooper toned down on the violence and horror from the novel to make it more accessible as it was a tv-miniseries. I wonder what he could have made if he hadn’t toned down… that could have been an even scarier movie. For me it’s the jumpscares and the glowing eyes from those that are bitten… and the iconic scenes with Ralph and Danny Glick, floating in front of the window wanting to be let in… because once you invite a vampire, they are allowed to enter!

The Marsten House… I remember a house not far from where I went to high school that always reminded me of the Marsten House… it had that eerie kind of evil look. And I loved it!

I am ready to revisit Salem’s Lot (the novel) again one day, as it is one of my favourite King novels! Scary stuff always gets in my top 5!