Salem's Lot - The Movies!

Salem's Lot was a hot property when it first hit the market. Stephen King was the new "wunderkind" on the horror market with his novel Carrie and the hit movie that followed it. Many Hollywood types thought the same for Salem's Lot and there was much buzz. But eventually someone had the grand idea that it would make a great mini-series on television given the length of the novel. Not a bad idea at all. Tobe Hooper was contracted to direct following his own successful flick Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And so, they made a two-part movie in 1979 which did a pretty good job of bringing the book to the screen. 

David Soul was hired to play "Ben Mears" and while he wouldn't have been my first pick, he does a good job. I only occasionally get distracted by his immovable 70's hairdo. James Mason does a great job as the vampire familiar "Straker" and his scenes are to be relished. Lance Kerwin is really good as "Mark Petrie", the boy who knows the vampire lore. Much more is made of his "Monster Kid" habits with many dandy Aurora models getting some airtime along with some vintage horror film posters. Bonnie Bedaila is exceedingly sexy as the love interest for Ben, and while she makes some poor choices, they seem not out of character or forced by the plot. Others who standout are Lew Ayers as the veteran English teacher who believes in vampires, Geoffrey Lewis as the handyman vampire, and Kenneth McMillan as the local constable. The vampire "Barlow" is changed dramatically, and in this show looks amazingly like Count Orloff from the classic silent Nosferatu. It's a solid show worthy of its reputation and features an ending not in keeping with the novel for those who appreciate the unexpected. 

I wish I could be as kind to the 1987 sequel A Return to Salem's Lot. The director for his one is Larry Cohen, a talent who makes flicks I usually cotton to, but this time he strikes out. Cohen had written a rejected screenplay for the original TV movie and if it resembled what he eventually put on screen a decade later I can see why it was rejected. We are back in Salem's Lot, that much is for sure, but the events of Stephen King's novel are largely ignored. Instead of a town assaulted by a vampire, we get a town riddled with vampires. And that might have worked if Cohen didn't insist that this settlement of Salem's Lot had always been occupied by vampires who came over to the New World along with the Puritans aboard the ill-fated Speedwell. 

Our hero is Michael Moriarty as "Michael Weber", an actor Cohen loves but who in this picture is all over the map in terms of his personality. His son is played by a newbie actor named Ricky Reed who is barely hitting his marks. Other characters, almost all of them vampires are played by reliable types like Andrew Duggan as the vampire mayor and June Havoc as Weber's aunt. There is a lot of vampire carnage which seems totally irrelevant to the plot. The town is also occupied by hybrid vampires who can operate in sunshine. The town has turned its back on hunting humans and instead relies on a healthy herd of cows to supply their bloody sustenance. It's not a back premise for a movie really, if handled with more care, but it's got almost nothing to do with King's original novel. 

There was a later adaptation of Salem's Lot starring Rob Lowe and I've seen it but didn't bother to scout up a copy for this review. It's pretty ho-hum and just treads the same ground but without the panache of a vintage 70's TV. I read that they are making a new television prequel and another film adaptation, but my interest is low on both counts. The classic from the late 70's still resonates sufficiently with this viewer. 

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