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Say the words "network miniseries" and watch the eyebrows of fellow horror fans furrow in skepticism. For the most part, this format has been viewed as a consignment to oblivion for some horror tales. But for Stephen King's 1975 masterpiece Salem's Lot, it continues to ring the lemons.
And who was behind the camera back in 1979, when this little gem was filmed? None other than Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper, who proved here that he was ready for mainstream recognition. On an interesting note, the film version of Salem's Lot was such a hit on US television that a decision was made to release the movie as a theatrical feature in Europe, although in an edited version which managed to creep into US video as well. Thus, the domestic version of Salem's Lot which for a long time infested our video shelves has been the hour-and-forty-minute version.
That cut does very little justice to Hooper's original vision, which clocks in right at three hours and is the tale of novelist Ben Mears (David Soul) returning to his New England hometown of Salem's Lot. As a boy, he knew that the old Marsten House was haunted, and now he wants to write a book about it. Except that its haunted-ness is just alive in present day as it was many years back. A new tenant, one Mr. Straker (James Mason), has taken up residence in the house, as he prepares to open an antique shop in the town square. This Mr. Straker has an elusive business partner named Mr. Barlow, who doesn't see, available to make a public appearance but who nonetheless visits the township on his own time.
The film does a commendable job of concealing the intentions of these new "guests" to the township as the story progresses, but the trailer and box-cover do very little to hide the fact that it's vampirism which is at work here. And fans who've read the novel first might be disappointed by the presentation of Barlow as merely a ghoulish bald-headed "Nosferatu"-like bloodsucker--as opposed to the charming bloke he was in the book. But that's a minor point.
Fans of the novel will appreciate some of the supporting performances of favorite characters, such as Bonnie Bedelia as Susan Norton, Geoffrey Lewis as Mike Ryerson and especially Lance Kerwin as Mark Petrie. On a curious note, some character names were changed for the film, with such performers as George Dzundza as Cully Sawyer, Barney McFadden as Ned Tebbetts and Lew Ayres as Jason Burke (for the curious, the author's original names for these people were Reggie Sawyer, Floyd Tibbetts and Matt Burke, respectively). And it should be noted that the late legendary horror actor Reginald Natzler (aka Reggie Nalder) appeared as Barlow in this production.
Salem's Lot works on several levels, beginning with the successful transfer of a hit book. It also works as a modern-day vampire tale with sympathetic characters which the viewer will root for. As a romance, it finds its mark in denoting a love that could never be. As a ghost yarn, the Marsten House supplies enough eerie tableau to keep even the most jaded afficionado glued to the screen. And as a flat-out great horror film, Salem's Lot doesn't disappoint in any area.
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