Salem's Lot
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Movie Reviews of Salem's Lot
Movie Review: 4.25 stars. An epic Vampire/Haunted house adventure tale.
Summary: 5 Stars
I would describe Salem's Lot as an epic vampire/haunted house/ occult adventure tale that is fun with actual genuine scares and freaky visuals.
The first hour there is a lot going on in one night and it was fun. Everyone was planning what they were doing that night, there was anticipation of something to come,the antique store owner was making arrangements with the real estate man to have his shipment picked up, as he himself had plans to go to Boston, then the real estate man makes his arrangements with the truck driver to pick up said shipment. The truck driver has plans of his own and hires a cemetery worker and his friend to do the job for him so that he can spy on his wife who works with the real estate man who he believes she is having an affair with. His wife is making plans with the real estate man that she is in fact having an affair with. Our main character Ben Mears makes plans to have dinner with Susan Norton and her mother and father. A young boy is having two friends that are brothers over to study. We as viewers are all packed up and ready to watch this night and what is to come and were interested in each of the stories. The town has an energy and a buzz of something about to happen and it conveys that to the viewer. It gives you that feeling of maybe a Friday night when all kinds of plans are being made and there is anticipation and nervousness.
Soon a dog yelps, eerie fog and wind roll in, a boy is missing, doctors are called away from dinners, a mother faints, and there is something very strange about the shipment, this town of Salem's Lot gets a shot of adrenaline along with us watching.
I saw this for the first time tonight, this title for whatever reason had eluded me. I could see this being very scary to anyone who watches it at a young age, it has that potential to make you as a kid dread going to sleep and has visuals that will stick with you when you close your eyes, the kind of film that will stick with you and you'll remember it being scary as you grow up, for me that would be A Nightmare on Elm Street (Infinifilm Edition) or The Exorcist (25th Anniversary Special Edition). The film has fears children can relate too. For example young relatable boys who live in similar homes and surroundings as most viewers are victims and are visited at there windows by very eerie beings. For young kids watching Salem's Lot they all have to go to bed, there is that very real fear of the dark and unknown, they most likely all have windows to look out of after seeing this movie while there imaginations run wild and plays tricks on them. Parents are taken from there children in this movie, for kids those are there protectors and that fear of losing a parent is very real and hits home. Don't get me wrong seeing this at 29 years old the scares are still there, probably not any where near what this film would do if you saw it at a young age, but there are plenty haunting visuals and scenes that stick with you.
The atmosphere in my opinion could've been a bit better. For example last night I watched Wolfen. When they were outside you could feel the cold and see there breathe, if it were early in the morning it had that early morning feel. If the wind was blowing I believe it was actually blowing that day. To me watching Wolfen I could feel that it was autumn and cold, almost gave me a warm feeling sitting inside, being warm and watching it. In Salem's Lot when the wind blew you could tell it was done by a machine, everyone was dressed warm but it didn't have that cool scary night feel. To me that just gives the film more lifelike feel and makes it seem real. It's hard to put into words what you feel or what a movie can make you feel, I'm just taking a shot.
To me Salem's Lot is in the top 5 vampire movies and deserved it's three Emmy nominations. This maybe my favorite Tobe Hooper directed picture as well, along side the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition). It is a must see for any one that is interested in the vampire, haunted house, or horror genre in general, it's an all around fun time.
One other thing, I heard poor things of the picture quality, I actually found it to be quite good and I'm very picky about that kind of stuff. The dvd is a bare bones and I didn't expect much but was satisfied.
Movie Review: Come Home to Salem's Lot
Summary: 5 Stars
Ben Mears is a novelist who has come back to his hometown of Salem's Lot (formerly known as Jerusalem's Lot) to write about the old, abandoned Marsten place, an eerie construction at the top of a hill which once housed a deranged child killer. When enquiring however, he finds that the house is newly inhabited; sold to two men from Europe who intend to open an antique shop in town. One of the men is a Mr. Straker; a very well-mannered, well-dressed, well-educated, and highly suspicious fellow. He speaks to everyone with an air of superiority that hardly seems as friendly as he thinks. The other man is a Mr. Kurt Barlow, whom no one has ever seen. Oh well, Ben probably didn't want to actually stay in that house anyway. He finds a room at the local boarding house, and in no time is dating one of the town's most beloved daughters, the lovely but constantly spaced out Susan Norton. Before we know it, the two are in love. But all is not well in Salem's Lot. A local boy has turned up missing, and everyone is getting very nervous. The boy's brother becomes suddenly anemic, and dies shortly after. Soon, others begin to get sick. It seems as though the town is falling into the grips of a plague, but in fact, things are much, much worse. In case you didn't know, Salem's Lot is a vampire movie. Not just a vampire movie, one of the very best, and probably the scariest to date. Yes, I know it was made for TV in 1979, but this is truly one of the scariest movies out there, and that's because they chose to make a vampire that actually looks like a vampire. The "Master" in Salem's Lot is a blue version of Count Orlok from "Nosferatu," and that's scary, man! But the horror doesn't stop there. All the lesser vampires are scary too! I'm talking SCARY! There are some scenes in this film you will never forget, like the summoning at the window, or the "Look at me, teacher!" scene. You may scoff if you watch this with friends, but I warn you not to try watching it alone! For the most part the cast is perfect (not making a comparison with the book, that is), especially those great old 70's/80's staples like Geoffrey Lewis and Fred Willard. James Mason is his usual, creepy self, and that's very creepy, but not as creepy as Reggie Nalder who played the horrific Mr. Barlow. The least stunning cast members were the two starring lovebirds, David Soul and Bonnie Bedelia. David was adequate, but not that inspiring, while Bonnie seemed anesthetized most of the time. On the other hand, Lance Kerwin did an excellent job as the magic and monster obsessed teen, Mark Petrie. I have to disagree with reviewers who felt he was too old to play as a kid interested in monsters and magic. They sound just like the boy's father asking, "When are you going to grow out of this stuff?" If he's truly interested in such things, he's not going to grow out of it. Where do you think magicians and movie effects guys come from? Anyway, Director Toby Hooper outdid himself again with this modern masterpiece; easily one of the all-time scariest movies out there, complete with great effects and a haunting score, despite being a TV miniseries from the 70s. This DVD keeps the entire two-nighter intact, along with one bonus feature: the foreign theatrical trailer. "Salem's Lot" was the first DVD I bought when I got my DVD player, and I'm glad of that. It's A LOT of entertainment for a VERY reasonable price! Definitely one of the best Stephen King films, alongside Silver Bullet, The Shining, and Carrie.
Movie Review: Come home to Salem's Lot!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ben Mears is a novelist who has come back to his hometown of Salem's Lot (formerly known as Jerusalem's Lot) to write about the old, abandoned Marsten place, an eerie construction at the top of a hill which once housed a deranged child killer. When enquiring however, he finds that the house is newly inhabited; sold to two men from Europe who intend to open an antique shop in town. One of the men is a Mr. Straker; a very well-mannered, well-dressed, well-educated, and highly suspicious fellow. He speaks to everyone with an air of superiority that hardly seems as friendly as he thinks. The other man is a Mr. Kurt Barlow, whom no one has ever seen. Oh well, Ben probably didn't want to actually stay in that house anyway. He finds a room at the local boarding house, and in no time is dating one of the town's most beloved daughters, the lovely but constantly spaced out Susan Norton. Before we know it, the two are in love. But all is not well in Salem's Lot. A local boy has turned up missing, and everyone is getting very nervous. The boy's brother becomes suddenly anemic, and dies shortly after. Soon, others begin to get sick. It seems as though the town is falling into the grips of a plague, but in fact, things are much, much worse.
In case you didn't know, Salem's Lot is a vampire movie. Not just a vampire movie, one of the very best, and probably the scariest to date. Yes, I know it was made for TV in 1979, but this is truly one of the scariest movies out there, and that's because they chose to make a vampire that actually looks like a vampire. The "Master" in Salem's Lot is a blue version of Count Orlok from "Nosferatu," and that's scary, man! But the horror doesn't stop there. All the lesser vampires are scary too! I'm talking SCARY! There are some scenes in this film you will never forget, like the summoning at the window, or the "Look at me, teacher!" scene. You may scoff if you watch this with friends, but I warn you not to try watching it alone! For the most part the cast is perfect (not making a comparison with the book, that is), especially those great old 70's/80's staples like Geoffrey Lewis and Fred Willard. James Mason is his usual, creepy self, and that's very creepy, but not as creepy as Reggie Nalder who played the horrific Mr. Barlow. The least stunning cast members were the two starring lovebirds, David Soul and Bonnie Bedelia. David was adequate, but not that inspiring, while Bonnie seemed anesthetized most of the time. On the other hand, Lance Kerwin did an excellent job as the magic and monster obsessed teen, Mark Petrie. I have to disagree with reviewers who felt he was too old to play as a kid interested in monsters and magic. They sound just like the boy's father asking, "When are you going to grow out of this stuff?" If he's truly interested in such things, he's not going to grow out of it. Where do you think magicians and movie effects guys come from? Anyway, Director Toby Hooper outdid himself again with this modern masterpiece; easily one of the all-time scariest movies out there, complete with great effects and a haunting score, despite being a TV miniseries from the 70s. This DVD keeps the entire two-nighter intact, along with one bonus feature: the foreign theatrical trailer. "Salem's Lot" was the first DVD I bought when I got my DVD player, and I'm glad of that. It's A LOT of entertainment for a VERY reasonable price! Definitely one of the best Stephen King films, alongside Silver Bullet, The Shining, and Carrie.
Movie Review: A scary vampire/haunted house TV horror movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Salem's Lot is a made-for-TV horror movie that aired in November 1979, based on the novel by Stephen King. It's about a small town in Maine that has an old and scary looking mansion on a hilltop that has a history of evil events happening within. The movie stars David Soul, who is superb in his role as Ben Mears, an author who is visiting Salem's Lot because he wants to write a book about the old house on the hill. The acting in this movie is great, especially by Soul, Bonnie Bedella (who plays Susan Norton, a young woman who becomes Soul's girlfriend), and James Mason (the mysterious resident of the old house on the hill, Richard Straker). As the movie progresses, it is believed that the house itself could be evil and that anybody who lives there could inherit evil, and become evil as a result. To sum up the movie, Straker has a vampire (Barlow) shipped to his home (the Marsten House), and from that point strange events start happening within the town such as sudden deaths, disappearances, etc. Eventually these events lead to the town being overtaken by vampires. One vampire creates another vampire through contact. Soul's character believes his arrival in Salem's Lot has awakened an evil in the town that has been dormant for some time, and the focal point is the house on the hill (the Marsten House). The vampire in this movie resembles the vampire from Nosferatu (1922). This is a huge deviation from the novel, which had the vampire looking more human. I personally like how the vampire appears in this movie - pure evil, very scary looking and resembling the Nosferatu vampire.
This movie came out at a time when a year earlier John Carpenter's Halloween had sort of revived horror movies and the public's interest in them. The late '70s and early '80s were the golden age of horror movies, and this was one of the better ones in my opinion. This movie screams 1970s horror and 1970s in general. This is a good thing, because John Carpenter proved that you really don't need to incorporate blood and gore to make a horror movie effective. Salem's Lot falls into this category. The eerie atmosphere is what makes the movie effective at scaring its audience.
The movie kind of drags at a slow pace at times, but if you watch it multiple times you'll realize that time is needed for events to play out leading up to the town being taken over by vampires. There are some "stories within the story" that play out, and this makes the movie drag a little at times. But a lot of '70s and early '80s horror movies drag a little. The Exorcist, The Shining, and The Changeling are good examples.
Do I recommend this movie? Absolutely. It truly is a great horror movie. Pop it in and turn out the lights. It's three hours long. Pay attention. You're in for a scare. It has a catchy theme song, also.
Movie Review: REVISITING MY DEMONS!
Summary: 5 Stars
I totally understand David Soul's character in the original Salem's Lot because I had to find a way to confront my childhood demon. A demon that haunted me for years: watching Salem's Lot without wetting my pants.
When this movie premiered in the late 70's, I was 12 years old. A 12 year old horror movie freak. (I'm still a horror movie freak. That rare female that can watch horror movie dvds for an entire weekend.) Everyone I knew - my mom, aunts, uncles, friends, schoolmates - couldn't WAIT for this movie to come on. It was going to be a big event! I wasn't familiar with the book, so I had no idea what was coming. The day the movie premiered, my mother decided I shouldn't see it. Needless to say, I was very upset.
That night, I dramatically told my mother I wasn't feeling well and asked if I could lay down on the floor in the living room. I didn't want to be alone. I WAS JUST THAT SICK! (It was just pure coincidence that my family planned to watch Salem's Lot on the TV in the living room.)
As my mother and her three sisters watched the movie, I peeked at it through narrowed eyes. (I was supposed to be sleeping.) After about 30 minutes, I gave up the charade and just watched openly. We all groused about how boring the movie was and couldn't believe all of the hype that was made beforehand.
That changed in the second hour of the film. I CANNOT DESCRIBE THE HORROR I FELT WHEN THE FIRST CHILD THAT DISAPPEARED, RALPHIE, FLOATED TO HIS BROTHER'S BEDROOM WINDOW IN A SHROUD OF FOG. He was terrifying!!!! I had never seen anything so scary in my life. Those eyes! Those teeth! That demonic GRIN!! I had seen vampire movies in the past but nothing like this!!
And when Mike, the cemetary worker, opened Danny's coffin to reveal Danny looking right up at him, the foundation for years of insomia was laid.
My eyes shut closed and didn't open until the next day. Sleep was not involved. (I didn't feel so bad about my nervousness when I found out my cousin jumped up in horror, and in an effort to run out of her living room, tripped and busted her lip when Barlow came out of Mark's floor.)
This show was a two-part mini-series. For me, it was two days of torture.
I decided I would conquer this demon in the mid-90's when I noticed it was coming on cable. I lived alone. My experiment was not successful. I was even more scared the second time around.
I bought it again a year ago and watched it six more times.
I am proud to say I am no longer scared when I watch this movie. But, it took me 25 years to find this serenity.
Buy this movie. It's a classic. Children should not watch it.