Salem’s Lot
While a well - remember classic , film director Tobe Hooper ’s 1979Salem ’s Lotminiseries is far from flawless , and is n’t as just as its report . By contrast , Stephen King’sSalem ’s Lotbookis fairly corking , and one of the jacket crown jewels of his library . It ’s also arguably one of the unspoiled lamia novel of all sentence , in the same league as Bram Stoker’sDracula , although King himself might quibble with that assessment . Unfortunately , Salem ’s Lotstill has yet to get the screen adaption it unfeignedly deserves .
Published in 1975,Salem ’s Lotfirst became a miniseries in 1979 , as mentioned , then was by and by adapt into a second miniseries in 2004 . Both miniseries have their good compass point , although the 2004 edition is lesser known , despite featuring a better overall plaster bandage . That ’s mostly due to its inability to attain the peak reached by the good moments of the 1979 adaptation , many of which have become fabled in the realm of vampire pop culture . Considering those moment , it ’s not grueling to see whySalem ’s Lotcarries such a cultural footprint .
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The job is that outside of the moments everyone know , such as the undead Danny Glick trying to clear entrance to Mark Petrie ’s room , or the monstrous appearance of theNosferatu - esqueKurt Barlow , Salem ’s Lot1979 just really is n’t that great . It ’s by no means terrible , but it is n’t merit of such a glowing legacy .
Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot Isn’t As Good As You Remember
The biggest issue withSalem ’s Lot1979is its duration , with the miniseries running for nearly 3.5 hours . While the book is 439 pages , that ’s really far from tenacious by King standards , and pare down to its master plot , Salem ’s Lotjust does n’t demand that form of outer space . It ’s a mistake the 2004 miniseries also made , range about the same distance . While little side secret plan about matrimonial unfaithfulness and modest townspeople backstabbing work finely when reading a Holy Scripture , something most people do over the line of multiple sessions , onscreen they seem extraneous to the cardinal tale of Ben Mears and companionship face off with the scourge of Kurt Barlow .
Somewhat related toSalem ’s Lot1979 ’s extravagant duration and piteous pacing is also its boredom element . There are so many scenes of people calmly utter that could ’ve easy been garnish to get to the legitimately good vampire material faster , and not helping things is that the cast has some weak links . spue one of the guys fromStarsky and HutchasSalem ’s Lot ’s dramatic lead was n’t a good move , and Ben Mears often comes off as a prostrate character , which he does n’t in King ’s book . Being a 1970s TV product , Salem ’s Lot1979 also often exhibit a thudding , soap opera house - esque look and feel that screams " goggle box motion picture . " As mentioned above though , none of this makesSalem ’s Lot1979 despicable , or ruins any of its many great moments . It ’s just about sentence the miniseries ' high-minded place in horror chronicle got reexamined a bit .
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