Salem's Lot (1979) ***
It's hard to believe that Salem's Lot (1979) was only the second adaptation of a Stephen King story. It's also hard to believe that I somehow only managed to watch it for the first time in 2018. King had only written six books by the time that SL started filming, so it makes sense (and I say only six because he's been incredibly prolific over the course of his career). It's just I sometimes forget that "King Fever" didn't truly ramp up until the '80s (with three feature films based on his works released in 1983 alone). Speaking of the '80s, just six months after Lot aired, Stanley Kubrick's vastly superior The Shining (1980) [review] was unleashed—still one of the best King adaptations (and I don't care what the man himself thinks about it).
Salem's Lot aired as a miniseries on CBS over two nights, totaling just over 3 hours in runtime. There was also a theatrical cut (released in Europe and aired on cable TV) called Salem's Lot: The Movie (included in Arrow Video's 4K UHD), running just under 2 hours, that I am still curious to see, but I decided on this second viewing that I wanted to watch the two-part miniseries again (technically for the first time because the cut on the 2016 Blu-ray is the "extended movie version", which is slightly shorter than the two-part miniseries, though I believe it contains all the same footage). I promised myself that I'll watch the theatrical cut on the next viewing.
In my previous review I wrote that I didn't think a remake of SL would be a bad thing (yes, I know there was another miniseries in 2004, but I still have yet to see it). At the time (2018), the timing seemed right, what with the solid (and in a lot of ways improved) 2017 remake of It [review], a remake of Pet Sematary (2019) [review] in post-production, and more King adaptations announced. I said that because, while I enjoy SL, it's definitely a product of its time. The television budget and production style are very evident, particularly due to the casting of David Soul ('Hutch' of Starsky & Hutch [1975–1979]), who is serviceable in the role of a novelist returning to his hometown to write his new novel, though he didn't wow me on the first viewing. Since that initial review, there has been a 2024 feature film remake (that I have yet to see) and I warmed to Soul's performance a bit on a rewatch.
There's a lot of buildup to when we finally see a vampire and the ghostly floating kid vamp is pretty creepy but also kind of funny. The same goes for master vamp Kurt Barlow—there is some great Nosferatu (1922) [review]-inspired makeup effects (plus glowing eyes!), but when the townsfolk are battling him the action is a bit clunky. It really isn't until the last 30 minutes or so, when we're finally in the Marsten House, that the production values jump way up in quality. At this point, when the film becomes a full-on haunted house ride, the production design and lighting are more interesting, the camerawork more exciting, and the atmosphere scarier. It's then that I really feel like I'm watching a Tobe Hooper movie.
Salem's Lot aired as a miniseries on CBS over two nights, totaling just over 3 hours in runtime. There was also a theatrical cut (released in Europe and aired on cable TV) called Salem's Lot: The Movie (included in Arrow Video's 4K UHD), running just under 2 hours, that I am still curious to see, but I decided on this second viewing that I wanted to watch the two-part miniseries again (technically for the first time because the cut on the 2016 Blu-ray is the "extended movie version", which is slightly shorter than the two-part miniseries, though I believe it contains all the same footage). I promised myself that I'll watch the theatrical cut on the next viewing.
In my previous review I wrote that I didn't think a remake of SL would be a bad thing (yes, I know there was another miniseries in 2004, but I still have yet to see it). At the time (2018), the timing seemed right, what with the solid (and in a lot of ways improved) 2017 remake of It [review], a remake of Pet Sematary (2019) [review] in post-production, and more King adaptations announced. I said that because, while I enjoy SL, it's definitely a product of its time. The television budget and production style are very evident, particularly due to the casting of David Soul ('Hutch' of Starsky & Hutch [1975–1979]), who is serviceable in the role of a novelist returning to his hometown to write his new novel, though he didn't wow me on the first viewing. Since that initial review, there has been a 2024 feature film remake (that I have yet to see) and I warmed to Soul's performance a bit on a rewatch.
There's a lot of buildup to when we finally see a vampire and the ghostly floating kid vamp is pretty creepy but also kind of funny. The same goes for master vamp Kurt Barlow—there is some great Nosferatu (1922) [review]-inspired makeup effects (plus glowing eyes!), but when the townsfolk are battling him the action is a bit clunky. It really isn't until the last 30 minutes or so, when we're finally in the Marsten House, that the production values jump way up in quality. At this point, when the film becomes a full-on haunted house ride, the production design and lighting are more interesting, the camerawork more exciting, and the atmosphere scarier. It's then that I really feel like I'm watching a Tobe Hooper movie.
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