Released in 1975, Salem’s Lot was Stephen King’s second – also his favorite – book and the second one of his stories to be adapted. It was originally going to be a shorter theatrical release. However, none of the scripts could properly condense the large tome while still holding onto the essence of what made the source material work, and since other vampire movies were on the horizon, it was decided to put this story on the small screen. It was a risk for the genre, which was still gathering power on television and had to tone down the sex and blood, but somehow, this 1979 miniseries managed to pull it off.
What audiences received was a two-night event, horror shown a week apart, which ran for a total of three hours and three minutes without the commercials and second set of credits. After numerous scripts and several directors (including George A. Romero), they landed on Tobe Hooper due to his work on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Even with an appropriate name at the helm and an extended runtime, the script still had to cut elements from the novel to make it all work. Some characters are completely omitted or combined with others for ease, while a few underwent simpler changes, such as occupations and ages. Of course, several plot points had to be removed, along with a good portion of King’s character-building. Still, strangely, some characters had random name changes, and the main antagonist was drastically altered. The author was against it at first, but King has come around on this movie since then, saying that he enjoys it, even with the major changes.
The story of Salem’s Lot is that of an author, Ben Mears (David Soul), who returns to his hometown to write a book and face the demons of his past. What he’s about to discover is that new monsters have moved into the old Marsten House, and their disease is ready to spread like wildfire. This is King’s version of Dracula if the Master decided to invade small-town America.
Some may be thrown by this being a television production from the late ‘70s, but it has a wonderfully crisp and cinematic look for the small screen with frames that stand out. Certain establishing, close-up, and lingering shots just ooze artistry, many sticking with viewers, but most cinephiles adore that grave sequence via the crane. With Hooper behind the camera, many scenes are genuinely creepy, even if there are a couple of ridiculous jump scares. Most viewers are quick to recall the chill of seeing the Glick boy float up through the window with the odd smoke (a shot filmed in reverse for greater effect), but I will always hold that Mike Ryerson sitting still as death in the rocking chair instilled the most terror. The effects here are practical and still hold up in most ways.
There are a few issues that stem from the time it was made, but much of that comes across as charming – like how the vampire child mysteriously changes to his pajamas – while other imperfections are seen due to the film being shown in resolutions and clarity that the creators never dreamed of. This is also a slowly-paced narrative that jumps around frequently, making viewers feel the full three hours. We meet several important characters quite early, even if they’re just exchanging glances, and see that some townspeople were doomed for a bad time even if the vampires hadn’t shown up, making it feel like a richer world. The final act is also missing some of the violence and cruelty that uplifted the book, as we don’t get to see most of the population die, as they are turned into predators or food, nor do we watch this cursed village get burned. Seeing the Marsten House go up in flames in such an epic way almost made up for it, but this version’s brutality has to be more subtle.
Some of the characters feel different, but most of them fit this world well. This is my favorite version of a slightly older and more grizzled Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin, who looks like a young Luke Skywalker), even though we don’t get to see him punch his bully. The character of Richard Straker (James Mason) is much more formidable here and goes out in a better fashion. I also like this version of the doctor, named Bill Norton (Ed Flanders), who pulls double duty as Susan’s father in this adaptation and doesn’t have his traditional death here, but one that inspired other films, as he is impaled on a set of antlers. This seemed like a weaker death at first, but after reading about what King originally wanted to do with this character and the rats, maybe they all pale in comparison. Ben Mears (David Soul) comes across less like a writer here and a tad creepier, but that’s mostly directed toward the Marsten House, while this is his best fight scene with Ned Tebbets. Father Callahan’s role is drastically cut down and I get they moved Susan’s death to the end to make it feel more important, but both decisions feel somewhat wrong.
“You’ll enjoy Mr. Barlow, he’ll enjoy you.”
The biggest change came with the head vampire, Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder), who was transformed from the suave and sophisticated gentleman with fangs to a more obvious monster, like the classic Nosferatu. This shift also took away his lines and gave them to Straker, making the leader feel less important and missing a key character trait, even though they were worried about not getting the voice right. Nalder wasn’t a fan of the role, as his screen time was considerably cut, and he originally had more scenes and speaking lines in earlier drafts. There were also issues with his makeup, constantly falling off, his fake nails and teeth were not sturdy, and he used contact lenses that could only be in for about fifteen minutes before they became painful. This misfortune caused poor shooting conditions, created the need for many more takes, and showed certain limitations of the four million-dollar budget.
The cast of this Salem’s Lot may not have a lot of instantly recognizable faces for most people, but almost all of them have something cool on their resume or would be notable soon afterward, and there is some genuinely excellent acting going on. The only exception seems to be the actor who played Jason Burke, Lew Ayres, who had trouble taking the subject matter seriously and had to be given more direction for many of his scenes. David Soul was one of the title characters in Starsky & Hutch, Kenneth McMillan would star in Dune later as Baron Harkonnen, a young Fred Willard shows up, and I couldn’t put my finger on who Susan was until I saw her name in the credits while that funky music played. I should have recognized her as Bonnie Bedelia from Die Hard.
There are multiple versions of Salem’s Lot (1979): the full-length affair, an edited-down cut re-aired later, and a theatrical release for Europe that cut out many scenes but added more blood and violence. This created another problem for the cast and crew, as they had to shoot these extra scenes at the same time, leaving many participants confused. Salem’s Lot received positive numbers and reception for the most part, with a planned television series to continue the vampire-hunting adventures, but that never materialized, and we received A Return to Salem’s Lot instead, which I’ve never seen and haven’t heard many good things about.
Salem’s Lot would receive two other adaptations in 2004 and 2024, but none of them seem perfect. Somewhere between these three versions feels like an incredibly solid and detailed retelling of King’s novel, but each iteration brings something to the table and tackles the story from a slightly different angle. For most, however, the 1979 version is still at the top and deserves praise. Even if it can be harder to approach, the bite has barely dulled.
