Salem's Lot (1979)

The DVD contains the 184-minute version of the film.

salems lot mini series

Where is the widescreen , all this wait and no widescreen , we know you have it ,don't you want to share it with us? I have this on vhs , yes the miniseries version , 3hours long , it is in widescreen and looks fantastic.. the 4:3 version looks so flat! So i know for certain it exists , so why , why , why even bother to release a 4:3 version . Who owns a crt tv anymore? Well if you want a long lasting digital copy this is for you ! picture is good except the colour is a bit washy! If you want widescreen well buy the deleted vhs version (if you can find it) and an old ex studio vhs player for about $40 , that's what I did , this dvd I couldn't watch , so off to ebay you go! May 16, 2008

Stephen King Classic

There's strangers in town and people start missing and dying off. They don't stay dead. They start visiting you in the middle of the night! Who's going to save the town if the Sheriff is even running scared? This is one of my personal favorites. I've loved it for years and recommend it to anyone who loves horror, vampires and just being frieghtened. February 8, 2008

Horror at it's best

Stephen King has done it again. A good cast of actors except for maybe David Soul, I believe he was mis-cast in this one. James Mason is as suave as ever as being the protector of Barlow, the vampire. With out the schmolts in the first reel, this could have been a movie, instead of a 3 hour mini series. All in all, a great horror movie. December 12, 2007

I realy enjoyed this scary movie

I like it because it scared heck the out of me! I like the cast also. September 18, 2007

4.25 stars. An epic Vampire/Haunted house adventure tale.

I would describe Salem's Lot as an epic vampire/haunted house/ occult adventure tale that is fun with actual genuine scares and freaky visuals.

The first hour there is a lot going on in one night and it was fun. Everyone was planning what they were doing that night, there was anticipation of something to come,the antique store owner was making arrangements with the real estate man to have his shipment picked up, as he himself had plans to go to Boston, then the real estate man makes his arrangements with the truck driver to pick up said shipment. The truck driver has plans of his own and hires a cemetery worker and his friend to do the job for him so that he can spy on his wife who works with the real estate man who he believes she is having an affair with. His wife is making plans with the real estate man that she is in fact having an affair with. Our main character Ben Mears makes plans to have dinner with Susan Norton and her mother and father. A young boy is having two friends that are brothers over to study. We as viewers are all packed up and ready to watch this night and what is to come and were interested in each of the stories. The town has an energy and a buzz of something about to happen and it conveys that to the viewer. It gives you that feeling of maybe a Friday night when all kinds of plans are being made and there is anticipation and nervousness.
Soon a dog yelps, eerie fog and wind roll in, a boy is missing, doctors are called away from dinners, a mother faints, and there is something very strange about the shipment, this town of Salem's Lot gets a shot of adrenaline along with us watching.

I saw this for the first time tonight, this title for whatever reason had eluded me. I could see this being very scary to anyone who watches it at a young age, it has that potential to make you as a kid dread going to sleep and has visuals that will stick with you when you close your eyes, the kind of film that will stick with you and you'll remember it being scary as you grow up, for me that would be A Nightmare on Elm Street (Infinifilm Edition) or The Exorcist (25th Anniversary Special Edition). The film has fears children can relate too. For example young relatable boys who live in similar homes and surroundings as most viewers are victims and are visited at there windows by very eerie beings. For young kids watching Salem's Lot they all have to go to bed, there is that very real fear of the dark and unknown, they most likely all have windows to look out of after seeing this movie while there imaginations run wild and plays tricks on them. Parents are taken from there children in this movie, for kids those are there protectors and that fear of losing a parent is very real and hits home. Don't get me wrong seeing this at 29 years old the scares are still there, probably not any where near what this film would do if you saw it at a young age, but there are plenty haunting visuals and scenes that stick with you.

The atmosphere in my opinion could've been a bit better. For example last night I watched Wolfen. When they were outside you could feel the cold and see there breathe, if it were early in the morning it had that early morning feel. If the wind was blowing I believe it was actually blowing that day. To me watching Wolfen I could feel that it was autumn and cold, almost gave me a warm feeling sitting inside, being warm and watching it. In Salem's Lot when the wind blew you could tell it was done by a machine, everyone was dressed warm but it didn't have that cool scary night feel. To me that just gives the film more lifelike feel and makes it seem real. It's hard to put into words what you feel or what a movie can make you feel, I'm just taking a shot.

To me Salem's Lot is in the top 5 vampire movies and deserved it's three Emmy nominations. This maybe my favorite Tobe Hooper directed picture as well, along side the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition). It is a must see for any one that is interested in the vampire, haunted house, or horror genre in general, it's an all around fun time.

One other thing, I heard poor things of the picture quality, I actually found it to be quite good and I'm very picky about that kind of stuff. The dvd is a bare bones and I didn't expect much but was satisfied.

August 24, 2007

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