Salem's Lot (1979)

I don't know I like it quite a bit. It's been awhile but certain scenes like the window scratching are forever burned into my memory. It has its problems like any King adaptation but overall I think it was pretty well done. I liked the modern remake pretty well too.

You're probably 100% right on that Masoumi. As a kid I got frightened by alot of these movies and I'll never forget my reactions to them. I've said this before, if I were to watch alot of the horror films that I like/love now as an adult for the first time things would probably be different and I'd be alongside many of the people here bitching about this and that. I'm glad though that I was growing up when I did in the late 70's and early 80's when alot of the greats and maybe not so greats came out. I got to see them when I was most impressionable and of course alot of thanks goes out to my Dad for putting me in the position to see them at such young ages.

The original salem's lot is a good creepy movie, i watch it often.

I'll have to watch it again. It's the perfect time of year for it.

I like it too. And I hate it when people tell you you're getting thinking it's a good film mixed up with being nostalgic, as if we're some kind of fucking morons who can't seperate our childhoods from real judgement.

Well, I don't like that either but when I really think about it alot of it is nostalgia cause some of the movies I enjpy the hell out of truly suck on a lot of levels. I can't defend Salems Lot too much right now cause it's been so long since I've seen it. Really, I love Silver Bullet but come on is it really a good movie?

Yeah, but there's that balance between liking something and thinking it's good. I mean, I like LOADED WEAPON 1, but I know it's a shite movie, however, I honestly think, looking completely objectively (if that's possible) that THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is one of the best movies ever made. Yet when I say that, some people no doubt immediately think 'he's totally saying that because of nostalgia'. It really pisses me off.

Just one of my rants. Ignore me.

Oye, Fett you’re just being nostalgic, go eat your bangers and mash and cool down.

In regards to “Salem’s Lot”, I love it.

That's because it is Fett.

I've always liked Hooper's adaptation. it takes a lot of liberties with the source material, but I think it is good atmosphere throughout, plus I dig the nosferatu ripoff makeup for Barlow. for a tv movie from the 70s, this one holds up pretty well.

also, aren't there numerous different versions available? i.e. the original tv broadcast was a longer, miniseries type movie, vs the one you can get on DVD?

Indeed. This movie is one of my first memories of cinema horror. The hair on the back of my neck still stands up when "The Master" is first revealed (in the jail cell), even though I know the moment is coming...


Another great scene is:
"Loooook at me teachahhh.... LOOOOOK at meeee...."

Does anyone know when the remake gets a DVD release? It'd be interesting to watch them back to back.

Here you go.

Release Date: October 12, 2004

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...307004-5866553

Cool. I'll be picking that one up for sure.

As far as I know, the only version of Hooper's Salem's Lot available on DVD is the full-length miniseries (at least in the US), which is what mine is.


I like both adaptions of Salem's Lot, just like I enjoy both adaptions of The Shining. They both have the same problems as well:

- Both originals, Hooper's Salem's Lot and Kubrick's The Shining, are high on atmosphere and creepiness, but stray pretty far from their respective novels.

- Both remakes, Garris' The Shining and TNT's Salem's Lot, are fairly close to their source material, but lack the atmosphere of their original film adaptions.


Each of the adaptions are good in their own right, but none of the four come close to their literary counterparts. They each sacrifice one thing for another and because of that, they will never live up to their source material properly.

salems lot

As a king fan i gotta love this movie, the older version anyway. C'mon guys, David soul and the amazing James Mason in one of his final roles(what a fantastic performance). There are so many quality horror moments in this mini series, Vampires tapping on windows, re-animating corpses in morgues, a small town literaly under seige from the undead, amazing stuff. The master vampire reminds me of a concentration camp victim and was completely ripped off for a brief scene in the night of the living dead remake by Tom Savini where it bursts through a window and gets shot in about a second. The scene where James Mason and the master vampire confront the towns priest is awesome, "Your faith against his faith, back shamen back priest." OK so it doesnt follow the book too closely and its a shame that certain scenes from the book weren't included; particularly the scene when David soul and the boy search the town during the day hunting slumbering vampires, pulling them out from sheds and under houses and staking them under the sunlight. I loved that part from Kings novel. However it doesn't spoil this great vampire horror movie, Tobe Hooper did a fantastic job in my opinion, oh and the score was chilling. Now anyone fancy a trip to harmony hill cemetary.