gavin6942
Vampires are invading a small New England town. It is up to a novelist and a young horror fan to save it.Producer Richard Koblitz said, "We went back to the old German Nosferatu concept where he is the essence of evil, and not anything romantic or smarmy, or, you know, the rouge-cheeked, widow-peaked Dracula. I wanted nothing suave or sexual, because I just didn't think it'd work." "Salem's Lot" had a significant impact on the vampire genre, as it inspired horror films such as "Fright Night" (1985) and the scenes of vampire boys floating outside windows would be referenced in "The Lost Boys" (1987). Not to mention the antler impalement which was in both "Lost Boys" and later in "Hannibal".Sadly ,the film seems to be hard to come by. Despite being a modern classic, my library system did not have it, so I had to purchase the DVD for $15. And, frankly, that is way too much for a DVD with no special features -- not even a menu! This movie is in desperate need of a blu-ray upgrade.
Adam Peters
(50%) For a TV movie this is worthy of at least some acclaim as it is quite a well made piece, but the fact remains all too clear: it's way too damn long. There's a fair bit to like here from the decent cast right though to the generally good direction and decent scares, but when your 90 minute horror flick elapses even biblical epics then something is not quite right. There's some memorable scenes here, and some impressively crafted sections, but the scenes of David Soul trying the very best he possibly could in closing the stupid doors to his Jeep have always somehow always stood out in my mind as oddly very funny. If you have three hours to kill this is by far not a terrible way to spend it, and this is one of the better horror TV movies ever, but three hours is a long, long time.
dworldeater
Terrific vampire epic based on a novel by Steven King and directed by Tobe Hooper. Very classy, but suspenseful and atmospheric horror production. When writer David Soul returns to his hometown to write a novel inspired by a creepy old house that terrified him in his youth, a creepy antiques dealer moves in. Then strange and horrific events begin in the small and quiet town known as Salem's Lot. James Mason is great and has a brooding, diabolical presence as the evil antiques dealer. David Soul is great as author turned hero and did well as the lead in this film. The rest of the cast is solid and it is nice to see frequent Clint Eastwood collaborator Geoffrey Lewis in a supporting role here. Salem's Lot is an epic production clocking in at nearly three hours long, but the story flows well with tension, suspense and terror throughout. All and all this is truly a classic and in my opinion the team of Tobe Hooper and Steven King did an excellent job in crafting this masterpiece. Great stuff.
nlangella1
This was an excellent miniseries. I use to own the full length miniseries on VHS as a kid. Idk why so many fans had a problem with making Barlow look more like Nosferatu? Honestly, I preferred this version over the 2004 one and the novel written by Stephen King himself. It just makes more sense. Barlow's appearance in the novel and in the 2004 version wasn't scary. I don't find a vampire with a more human like appearance like Dracula to be frightening. David Soul portrayed a better Ben Mears than Rob Lowe. I also liked the actor who played Mark. I found this version satisfying. Sure, it's not exactly like the novel. But then again it's Hollywood.