A novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.A novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.A novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
- Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
- 4 nominations total
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Did you know
- TriviaThe exterior for the Marsten House was actually a full-scale facade built upon a smaller pre-existing hill-top house. In total, the facade cost the production an estimated $100,000 dollars to build. In 1979, an entire house (including the interiors) could have been made for that amount.
- GoofsWhen the younger Glick brother is abducted (and later presumably murdered by Barlow) he's wearing a jacket, t-shirt, dungarees and sneakers. After which, he appears to his brother wearing pajamas.
- Crazy creditsThe text of the opening credits appear and dissolve piece by piece into each other in a jigsaw puzzle fashion.
- Alternate versionsSalem's Lot originally aired as a 2-night mini-series with the first episode airing on November 17, 1979 and the second episode airing the following week on November 24, 1979.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Stairs (1986)
Featured review
Genuinely frightening, and one of the better Stephen King adaptations
While I personally would put Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me and Misery above Salem's Lot, I cannot deny how truly great this is. And I also think out of the made-for-TV Stephen King movies, Salem's Lot is the best.
What makes the film work is its atmosphere. So many scenes are genuinely unnerving, because the atmosphere is so good. Salem's Lot is not reliant on fake blood/gore and cheap special effects to make its point. The atmosphere amongst other things takes good care to do its job well, and well it does, and the build-ups are also quite suspenseful.
The look of Salem's Lot is suitably Gothic. It doesn't look cheap, the sets are creepy-looking and the costumes are grandiose. The music is also very chilling and just adds to the unnerving atmosphere of each crucial scene. The special effects are decent, the pace doesn't hurt Salem's Lot as much as it could have done and it is a good length. The dialogue is also less clunky than it is in a Stephen King adaptation like TommyKnockers, and the story is coherent.
The acting is good. David Soul is appealing and gets into his character well enough and Reggie Nalder delves into Barlow very effectively with his entrance one of Salem's Lot best scenes, but the show belongs to James Mason who is beyond terrifying and is simply born for the role. Tobe Hooper's direction ties things up very well too.
Overall, a very impressive, atmospheric and genuinely frightening Stephen King adaptation. First time I saw it, it affected me so much I couldn't sleep with the light off for a couple of nights. 9/10 Bethany Cox
What makes the film work is its atmosphere. So many scenes are genuinely unnerving, because the atmosphere is so good. Salem's Lot is not reliant on fake blood/gore and cheap special effects to make its point. The atmosphere amongst other things takes good care to do its job well, and well it does, and the build-ups are also quite suspenseful.
The look of Salem's Lot is suitably Gothic. It doesn't look cheap, the sets are creepy-looking and the costumes are grandiose. The music is also very chilling and just adds to the unnerving atmosphere of each crucial scene. The special effects are decent, the pace doesn't hurt Salem's Lot as much as it could have done and it is a good length. The dialogue is also less clunky than it is in a Stephen King adaptation like TommyKnockers, and the story is coherent.
The acting is good. David Soul is appealing and gets into his character well enough and Reggie Nalder delves into Barlow very effectively with his entrance one of Salem's Lot best scenes, but the show belongs to James Mason who is beyond terrifying and is simply born for the role. Tobe Hooper's direction ties things up very well too.
Overall, a very impressive, atmospheric and genuinely frightening Stephen King adaptation. First time I saw it, it affected me so much I couldn't sleep with the light off for a couple of nights. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 25, 2011
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