Salem's Lot

Year: 1979 Starring: David Soul, James Mason, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres, Ed Flanders Director: Tobe Hooper Sound: ENG; Subtitles: ENG, FR

David Soul ("Starsky and Hutch") plays Ben Mears, a writer who returns to his hometown to write a novel about the local haunted house, and ends up dating Susan Norton (Bonnie Bedelia, future star of "Heart Like a Wheel"). Then evil James Mason comes to town, and pretty soon 70s character actors like Fred Willard, Geoffery Lewis and Elisha Cook, Jr. are dropping dead due to... mysterious circumstances. Okay, enough phony suspense. It's a vampire movie. Vampires... in modern-day Maine. And it works better than it has a right to.

Soul's not exactly tortured enough, and Lance Kerwin's a little too old to play a monster-obsessed youth, but the supporting cast, which includes Ed Flanders ("St. Elsewhere"), Lew Ayres (Paul, from the classic 1930 "All Quiet on the Western Front"), Kenneth McMillan ("Ragtime," and "Dune") and George Dzundza (everything else) more than make up for it. They're sincere, and that counts for a lot. James Mason makes a perfectly urbane villain; he's suave and dangerous, and much smarter than his undead master, who's something of a disappointment in the chills department when finally revealed.

This disk contains the entire miniseries, which manages to maintain a level of suitable creepiness, despite some dated sexual innuendo and a some "made-for-tv" scenes that aren't quite as menacing as they could be. Still, a few sequences are effectively chilling, and it's well worth your time, especially around Halloween.


THE MOST EERIE MINI-SERIES TO EVER BE SHOWN ON TV   August 20, 1999
22 out of 24 found this review helpful

First of all, don't be fooled-only watch the full length mini-series. The "cut-to-shreds" movie version is not worth the blank video it was taped on. I first watched "Salem's Lot" as a kid of about 9. I then bought the video 3 years ago and I was just as terrified watching it as a 20-year-old as I was 11 years previous.

What makes "Salem's Lot" different from many horror 'classics' is that it doesn't have to rely on blood and gore to scare the wits out of the viewer. The eerie tenseness of the presence of Straker, Mears' return to THAT house and the ultimate battle with the elusive Mr.Barker results in a constant shiver down your spine. My favourire scene, though, is one that freaked me out as a kid - when Danny Glick is visited for the first time by his now vampire brother, hovering in a cloud of smoke at his bedroom window. Believe me, you'll be checking behind the curtains of every window in the house for weeks to come, especially if it's a foggy night!!!

Living in Ireland, I bought the UK release of "SALEM'S LOT THE MINI-SERIES" which, I believe, contains a few additional scenes not included in the American 'full- length version.' Everyone should see this mini-series at least once in their life-time....it's something that you will never forget!!!!


Solid adaption a bit dated   July 20, 2003
Wayne Klein (My Little Blue Window, USA)
16 out of 19 found this review helpful

Based on Stephen King's second published novel, Salem's Lot is a variation on Dracula. King subverts the story by making the gradual takeover of the town by vampires the focus of his story. Ben Mears (David Soul) is a writer who left Salem's Lot shortly after high school. He's haunted by a single image--the image of a man who committed suicide in a haunted house. He returns to Salem's Lot to write a novel based on his experience. In the process he falls in love with a local high school teacher (nicely played by a young and beautiful Bonnie Bedila)After the arrival of an antique's dealer (James Mason), children disappear and creepy things begin to happen in the town.

It's one of King's most accomplished early works. Originally meant to be directed as a feature film by George Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead), once Universal announced its remake of Dracula, the production company put the project on track as a television miniseries. Director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergist, Lifeforce) stepped in as director. While Hooper's direction is sharp particularly during the second half of the miniseries, his unusual restraint due to the constraints of television work against him. The best sequences (particularly during the last hour)capture all of the creepiness missing from the early part of the miniseries. Paul Monash's teleplay captures the best elements of King's novel. While it's a bit lacking in terms of creepiness during the early part of the production, Monash's script does manage to capture the small town atmosphere very well.

David Soul gives a thoughtful performance as Mears. Bonnie Bedelia is marvelous as Susan the high school teacher that captures his heart. The film is filled out with a great cast of strong character actors including Fred Willard, Elisha Cook, Jnr., Lew Ayres and Ed Flaunders. The production design and art direction doesn't betray the television roots of the miniseries like most projects from the same time frame (most notably the awful version of The Martian Chronicles). Part of this is due to the smalltown Maine Setting.

While it's nice to have this on DVD, the print is in awful shape. There's a huge amount of analog artifacts. There's dust, dirt and lots of other problems with the print. This looks like the print that was used for the videotape version. The picture is frequently soft and is missing a lot of detail. The colors haven't been balanced correctly as well and they frequently bleed. Although the outside of the disc states it's a duallayer disc, it doesn't look it. The only plus here is that the entire miniseries is included on one disc.

The mono sound is flat and doesn't have any dynamic range. While I realize it's too much to expect a 5.1 or stereo remix, the least Warner could have done was to try and find a better source for the print and soundtrack. The only extra included is a "theatrical trailer" which I don't recall being broadcast when the miniseries originally aired. Perhaps it was created for the theatrical version of the film. The theatrical trailer actually looks better than much of the print used for this transfer.

Sadly, Salem's Lot, like a lot of early DVD's issued by Warner, looks like it was haphazardly slapped together. It's a pity as there was a missed opportunity here. While it isn't the best miniseries, it's an early classic of the horror miniseries that were created for television during the late 70's. The film would have benefited from a commentary from director Hooper, star Soul and Bedila. I'm sure there must be documentary or behind the scenes footage that could have been included as well. Like a lot of Warner "product" (Horror of Dracula comes to mind), too little effort and not enough thought or care was put into this reissue. I'm sorry to say that this is a very disappointing DVD.


More Than It Could Chew   October 11, 2002
Gary F. Taylor (Biloxi, MS USA)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Stephen King's bestseller SALEM'S LOT is a surprisingly complicated novel that first presents a detailed portrait of normal life in a small New England town--normal life that is gradually perverted when the town becomes infested by the undead. And with a cast that includes such memorable performers as James Mason, Lew Ayres, Elisha Cook Jr., and Marie Windsor, this 1979 two-part television special seemed to a great deal going for it. Unfortunately, however, director Tobe Hooper and his screenwriters are unable to find a way to streamline the novel's numerous characters and subplots into any dramatic whole, and the result is a film that constantly references a host of characters, events, and ideas but seldom to any real effect.

Even so, the film does have its charms. Chief among them is James Mason in one of his final performances, offering a brilliant, sinister, and wickedly witty performance as Mr. Straker, the servant of the vampire. Ayres and Bedelia are also extremely good, and although Cook and Windsor are largely wasted they are nontheless entertaining to watch. And the film does offer a few "jump in your seat" thrills: the scenes of child vampires floating outside bedroom windows are truly creepy, and the great vampire himself harkens back to the silent film NOSFERATU in a most effective way.

Still, most viewers will find the film fairly tame. David Soul was not a memorable actor, the script is incredibly talky, and there are too many lose ends for the story to be satisfying. It will be of most interest to fans of King's work who would like to see how television handled this, one of his most successful novels. A word of warning: there are two versions of this film. The single video version is a condensation of the original, and it is virtually unwatchable. Stick with the full-length, two-tape version.