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Salem's Lot

  • TV Mini Series
  • 1979
  • PG
  • 3h 20m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
26K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,713
8
Salem's Lot (1979)
Salem's Lot
Play trailer1:03
1 Video
99+ Photos
Horror

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.

  • Stars
    • David Soul
    • James Mason
    • Lance Kerwin
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    26K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,713
    8
    • Stars
      • David Soul
      • James Mason
      • Lance Kerwin
    • 269User reviews
    • 86Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
      • 4 nominations total

    Episodes2

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 Season1979

    Videos1

    Salem's Lot
    Trailer 1:03
    Watch Salem's Lot

    Photos138

    Salem's Lot (1979)
    Salem's Lot (1979)
    Bonnie Bedelia in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Bonnie Bedelia in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Robert Lussier in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Clarissa Kaye-Mason in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Clarissa Kaye-Mason in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Reggie Nalder in Salem's Lot (1979)
    James Gallery in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Barbara Babcock in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Robert Lussier in Salem's Lot (1979)
    Joshua Bryant in Salem's Lot (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David Soul
    David Soul
    • Ben Mears
    James Mason
    James Mason
    • Richard K. Straker
    Lance Kerwin
    Lance Kerwin
    • Mark Petrie
    Bonnie Bedelia
    Bonnie Bedelia
    • Susan Norton
    Lew Ayres
    Lew Ayres
    • Jason Burke
    Julie Cobb
    Julie Cobb
    • Bonnie Sawyer
    Elisha Cook Jr.
    Elisha Cook Jr.
    • Gordon 'Weasel' Phillips
    George Dzundza
    George Dzundza
    • Cully Sawyer
    Ed Flanders
    Ed Flanders
    • Dr. Bill Norton
    Clarissa Kaye-Mason
    Clarissa Kaye-Mason
    • Majorie Glick
    Geoffrey Lewis
    Geoffrey Lewis
    • Mike Ryerson
    Barney McFadden
    • Ned Tebbets
    Kenneth McMillan
    Kenneth McMillan
    • Constable Parkins Gillespie
    Fred Willard
    Fred Willard
    • Larry Crockett
    Marie Windsor
    Marie Windsor
    • Eva Miller
    Barbara Babcock
    Barbara Babcock
    • June Petrie
    Bonnie Bartlett
    Bonnie Bartlett
    • Ann Norton
    Joshua Bryant
    Joshua Bryant
    • Ted Petrie
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The 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.
    • Goofs
      When 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.
    • Quotes

      Straker: You'll enjoy Mr. Barlow. And he'll enjoy you.

    • Crazy credits
      The text of the opening credits appear and dissolve piece by piece into each other in a jigsaw puzzle fashion.
    • Alternate versions
      Salem'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.
    • Connections
      Featured in Stairs (1986)

    User reviews269

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    See the mini-series version if at all possible
    First let me suggest to see the original miniseries version if at all possible. The "movie" version is horribly chopped. The remaining pieces don't fit together and leave gaping holes (such as, "what happened to Susan?")

    Salem's Lot is an almost unknown milestone in horror films. This superb combination of the talents of Tobe Hooper and Stephen King bridges the gap between the Hammer-style films of the 60's and the modern vampire films. Two things to especially note:

    (1) This takes place in Everytown, USA and the cinematography reflects the ordinary turned extraordinary (which is the same effect achieved by Bram Stoker's original writing for the audience of his time.) It begins looking almost like a Rockford Files episode and goes dark from there. But even the climax in the evil Marsten house looks *real*, just as you would imagine an old decrepit house to look. You can almost smell the dust. Hey, this was the seventies, the decade of naturalistic lighting. Everything coming out of Hollywood now looks just that - like Hollywood.

    (2) It is a shame that anyone today viewing Salem's Lot already knows that is about vampires because when it first aired on TV, the unknown aspect is what made the first half so creepy. Now you just sit there waiting for the vampires to show up. (If I thought that even one person might read this without knowing it was about vampires, I wouldn't write this.) The advertising for the show made no mention of vampires and the effect worked well. I was ten years old when I first saw this. I had seen at least a dozen other vampire flicks - Noseratu, Lugasi, the Hammer films - and I had no clue that this was about vampires. All I knew was that something creepy was going in this town and it was getting creepier and creepier. Only in the second episode when you see someone get bit in the neck did it finally click, "Oh my god, they're vampires." You realize it right about the same time that the main characters do. Highly effective.

    Also, superb performances by David Soul, Lew Ayres, James Mason.
    helpful•21
    2
    • t_pellman
    • Jul 2, 2002

    Fantastical Physical Transformations

    Fantastical Physical Transformations

    From amazing prosthetics to groundbreaking VFX, these actors totally transformed for their roles.
    See the gallery
    View image
    Photos

    FAQ5

    • Did the vampires have hypnotic powers?
    • What are the differences between the Movie Version and the TV Version?
    • Any recommendations for other movies where the evil entity is the house itself?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 17, 1979 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Blood Thirst
    • Filming locations
      • 850 Bluff Street, Ferndale, California, USA(Marsten House)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros. Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 20 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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