Writer Ben Mears (David Soul) has returned to his hometown of Salem’s Lot, Maine to write a book about Marsten House, a creepy place thought to be haunted. Ben certainly believes it is, having seen a ghostly creature inside the house when he was ten. He soon learns that Marsten House has recently been bought by the mysterious Richard Straker (James Mason), who opens an antique shop with his always traveling business partner, Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder). Unfortunately for Mears, there are vampires in town hunting for blood…
As with most miniseries in the 1970’s and ‘80s, Salem’s Lot is a large ensemble cast populated by television stars of the day, with a dose of big screen names from the past. David Soul, as Ben Mears, had just wrapped up a four year run on the popular cop series Starsky & Hutch. A bit flat at times, Soul is fine in the lead role, if not particularly memorable. Soul’s fellow protagonist played by a young Lance Kerwin, is also a bit flat. However, those shortcomings are offset by an impressive supporting cast which includes Bonnie Bedelia as Ben’s love interest, Susan Norton, with George Dzundza, Ed Flanders, Fred Willard, Geoffrey Lewis and Hollywood legends Lew Ayres, Elisha Cook, Jr. and Marie Windsor. In their roles as longstanding town residents, all of these actors add flavor to nearly every scene they appear in. Interestingly, Tobe Hooper admits in the included audio commentary to being keenly aware that Salem’s Lot marked the first time since Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1956) that Elisha Cook, Jr. and Marie Windsor had worked together. For a film buff like myself, a chance to see to old movie stars work together again is reason enough to give Salem’s Lot a look.
With all that said, the star of the film is James Mason as Richard Straker. He oozes smarm as he greets the townspeople who will soon become his prey. Just listen to him when he replies to people who ask about Barlow’s whereabouts, “You shall be meeting him soon, very soon. And, I am sure he will find it a pleasure.” The way he delivers that line makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
More than thirty-five years after the original broadcast, the make-up and special effects are most disappointing. No doubt this is where budgetary constraints hurt the most. Nonetheless, Hooper is to be commended for doing the best he could with what he had, creating a few genuine scares with creative lighting, thoughtful shot selection and methodical pace. While Salem’s Lot is far from the best adaption of Stephen King’s work, the performance of James Mason and a solid cast of supporting characters make this worth a look.
Shot on 35mm film, this 1080p presentation is in the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Colors can’t be called vibrant, but they look fine. Film grain is largely resolved. The grain looks a bit overdone during some of the heavier special effects, but that’s not surprising. Three are a few shots that look a bit choppy, but otherwise, this is a pretty good transfer consider the source and the age of the material.
The audio is presented in mono via a lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. Dialogue, effects and music are well balanced. This isn’t a soundtrack that’s going to blow anyone away, but it does its job pretty well. Artifacts are minimal, as I detected a slight pop a few times throughout the proceedings.
English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
- Audio Commentary Featuring Director Tobe Hooper: In this screen specific track, Hooper shares behind-the-scenes stories and makes it clear that this, full-length mini-series, is his preferred cut of the film. He also discusses the shoot and takes plenty of time to praise his talented cast. Though there are quite a few long silences in the commentary, what Hooper has to say should be of interest to fans of the film.
- International Theatrical Trailer
