Salem’s Lot (1979)

8 / 10.  A worthy adaptation of King’s classic novel, a little dated, but still very unsettling *MINOR SPOILERS*

Salem's Lot is a 1979 TV mini-series based on the fantastic 1975 novel by Stephen King, directed by Tobe Hooper.

Writer Ben Mears (David Soul) returns to Jerusalem's Lot ('Salem's Lot to the locals) in Maine to find inspiration for his next novel about the old ‘haunted’ Marsten House, which terrified him when he lived in ‘Salem’s Lot as a child.

The Marsten House has recently been acquired by mysterious antique enthusiasts Richard Straker (James Mason) and Kurt Barlow.  Ben, along with allies; girlfriend Susan Norton (Bonnie Bedelia), old teacher Jason (Matt in the book) Burke (Lew Ayres) and young Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin), discover the town’s residents are disappearing one by one, and returning ‘anaemic,’ beginning with the disappearance of child Ralphie Glick…

The novel was clearly inspired by vampire legends and classic books such as Dracula (as King has stated himself) and is an homage to monster movies / comics and haunted house tales.  It is one of my favourite books and a masterful horror classic.  It was ambitious to create a TV version of it, but it is faithful to many aspects of the book, and has an intense, slow burn creepiness and a bleak ending.

The Salem’s Lot miniseries absolutely terrified me as a kid, Ralphie and then Danny Glick at the bedroom windows has haunted me since and I never sleep with the window open.  Some scenes look dated, but this scene is still especially creepy and makes effective use of the time’s special effects and unsettling, atmospheric music is used throughout.

There is no escaping the inimitable James Mason as Straker who is a scene stealer (I always hear Eddie Izzard’s impression of Mason when he speaks), and Mark is the true hero, a bad-ass with a love of monsters and magic, which is invaluable in to the hero’s plight.

In this adaptation Barlow doesn’t speak, but he does in the novel. This change works for TV as his appearance is genuinely scary, a credit to Reggie Nalder who played Barlow, and the special effects team. The TV show already rocks in at 4 hours, and to include the Barlow speaking scenes from the book would have lengthened it further. In the novel his speech adds more depth to Barlow and his interactions with the other characters.

The town is revisited in the short stories “Jerusalem's Lot,” set many years prior, and “One for the Road,” set after the events of ‘Salem’s Lot.  Both are included in King's short story collection Night Shift (1978), if you want a further fix.

“You'll enjoy Mr. Barlow. And he'll enjoy you”.