IMDb > Salem's Lot (1979) (TV)
Salem's Lot
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Salem's Lot (1979) (TV) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   5,795 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Stephen King (novel)
Paul Monash (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Salem's Lot on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
17 November 1979 (USA) more
Tagline:
The ultimate in terror!
Plot:
Vampires are invading a small New England town. It's up to a novelist and a young horror fan to save it. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(13 articles)
Spielberg And King Join Forces
 (From EmpireOnline. 19 November 2009, 10:13 PM, PST)

'Salem's Lot'? Hell Yeah!
 (From FEARnet. 17 November 2009, 1:57 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Excellent more (171 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
David Soul ... Ben Mears

James Mason ... Richard K. Straker
Lance Kerwin ... Mark Petrie

Bonnie Bedelia ... Susan Norton
Lew Ayres ... Jason Berk
Julie Cobb ... Bonnie Sawyer
Elisha Cook Jr. ... Gordon 'Weasel' Phillips (as Elisha Cook)
George Dzundza ... Cully Sawyer
Ed Flanders ... Dr. Bill Norton
Clarissa Kaye-Mason ... Majorie Glick (as Clarissa Kaye)

Geoffrey Lewis ... Mike Ryerson
Barney McFadden ... Ned Tebbets
Kenneth McMillan ... Constable Parkins Gillespie

Fred Willard ... Larry Crockett
Marie Windsor ... Eva Miller
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Blood Thirst
Salem's Lot: The Miniseries
Salem's Lot: The Movie (USA) (cable TV title (cut version))
more
Runtime:
112 min | Argentina:115 min | Germany:103 min | UK:107 min (theatrical version) | USA:184 min (uncut version) | USA:183 min (DVD version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Iceland:16 | France:-12 (theatrical) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1995) (mini-series version) | UK:18 (original rating) (theatrical version) | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The Jeep that Ben drives in the film is a Jeep Wrangler CJ-5 model. more
Goofs:
Boom mic visible: As Cully and Larry enter the living room, a crew member and a boom mic are reflected in the mirror. more
Quotes:
Straker: The master wants you. Throw away your cross, face the master. Your faith against his faith... Could you do that? Is your faith enough?... Then do it... Throw away the cross. Face the master. Faith against faith. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Asylum of Terror (1998) (V) more

FAQ

How is this film different from the novel?
more
32 out of 35 people found the following comment useful.
Excellent, 3 January 2004
Author: Gafke from United States

This movie is an odd cross between "Peyton Place" and "Nosferatu"...and it works! Set in the small, isolated and somewhat inbred community of Jerusalems Lot (called Salems Lot by the locals) this film is more about small town dirty secrets which are really not secret at all. Everyone knows everyone else's business, gossip is a way of life and the town's mistrust of outsiders is both expected and justified when two men show up in town and a little boy goes missing. This is a story about a small town that just happens to have a vampire in it.

James Mason is elegance personified as the "Renfield" character who sticks out like a sore thumb in this tight-knit community and makes himself the object of suspicion when he moves into the local haunted house and opens up an antique shop. His European accent, expensive suits and somewhat prissy manners make him a hot item of gossip. So too does the arrival of Ben Mears also cause local tongues to start wagging. Mears was born and raised in Salems Lot, having moved away as a small child. He returns as a semi-successful author and a recent widower, haunted by childhood memories of the Marsten House - the local haunted house in which James Mason now resides. Yet another outsider is Mark, a new teen in town with a morbid collection of horror movie paraphernalia. These three characters are drawn together by force as more people go missing and the small town residents, with their narrow vision, cannot accept what is really happening. It is up to the outsiders - the author who knows, the teenager who believes and the human who is a monster - to solve the mystery.

When the vampire finally appears, it is a frightening, exhilarating experience. Reggie Nalder as Barlow, the ancient Master whom James Mason serves, is a disgusting parasite, a physical homage to Nosferatu with his rat-like teeth, his long bony fingers and his hypnotic eyes. He is the frosting on the cake for this excellent film. By the time he makes his appearance, it is almost unnecessary. The paranoia has already decimated the town, and the fear of the unknown is the greatest monster of all. But though he may be unnecessary, he is not unwelcome. He is a wonderful vampire, a truly hideous beast, a fine salute to what a vampire should be - ugly, vile and obscene.

This is one of my all time favorite vampire films, right up there with Nosferatu and Subspecies. To hell with whining, pretentious vampire Pretty Boys - this is the real stuff, and it doesn't get much better than this.

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more (171 total)

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
so im a dork spookyontario
Peter Cushing missing from this film physgraf78
Jason Berk Phrosty
Where did Mr. Straker sleep? rjames1973
Major Plot Hole SPOILERS rabiddog67
Any Updates on This? rjames1973
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