1979’s Salem’s Lot: Stephen King’s First Mini-series
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
Stephen King’s first television mini-series was 1979’s Salem’s Lot. Tobe Hooper’s directing makes this mini-series(based on King’s book ‘Salem’s Lot) one of the most chilling made-and not just from Stephen King’s adapted works.
Warning: apart from the obvious horror violence, this mini-series has a scene on camera of a disturbing attack with a rifle on one man and an off camera depiction of domestic violence. Also a good boi dies.
The Premise
The Marsten House
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
Writer Ben Mears(David Soul) has returned to Salem’s Lot after being away for decades. Ben has come back to write about Marsten House. It sits atop a hill, and overlooks the entire city. Given the house’s morbid history, Ben believes that the house itself is evil and attracts evil people to it.
Stephen King likes writing about writers.
Photo credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
One night, soon after Ben’s arrival, the deaths and disappearances start. Philandering realtor Larry Crockett(Fred Willard) is found dead in his car. Young Ralphie Glick(Ronnie Scribner) disappears in the woods.
Floating kids are always trouble.
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
But Ralphie doesn’t stay gone. A vampiric Ralphie appears to his brother, Danny(Brad Savage), outside his window at night. He scratches at the window, and Danny lets him in. Danny is diagnosed with pernicious anemia.
Ralphie finds him again, and Danny dies in the hospital.
Beginning with these two, the townsfolk begin turning into vampires.
Ralphie and Danny’s horror loving friend, Mark Petrie(Lance Kerwin), saves himself from vampiric Danny. Mark soon sets out for revenge.
The kid loves horror. Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
Now Mark, Ben, and a few other townspeople must find the head vampire and the vampires’ lair; all signs point to the Marsten House, and its newest tenant, Richard Straker(James Mason).
A Quick Paced Setup
The mini-series gets a lot of introductions out of the way, and gets to the horror. It doesn’t rush, it just doesn’t pad the story.
The Heroes
What differentiates this from a lot of horror films is that the adults believe the vampires are real, and figure things out without prompting from children.
It also follows two of the hunters in a prologue/epilogue two years after the events of the series.
The Vampires
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
The creatures here aren’t beautiful(mostly-just one in the epilogue). These monsters are mottle-skinned, decaying, with brown, dirty fangs. The makeup and contact lens effects are scary, lending just enough of an “otherness” to the creatures to make them horrifying.
Huge shoutout to Geoffrey Lewis as soft spoken and hardworking gravedigger Mike Ryerson. His performance is outstanding and the most horrifying.
What’s that on your neck, Mike?
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
The head vampire was inspired by Nosferatu. It, in turn, inspired Petyr from What We Do in the Shadows. Which in turn spawned a hilarious TV show.
The head vampire.
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
Additional Cast
The cast is stellar and includes:
- Bonnie Bedelia as Susan Norton
- Lew Ayres as Jason Burke
- Julie Cobb as Bonnie Sawyer
- George Dzundza as Cully Sawyer
- Kenneth McMillan(Dune’s original cinematic Baron Vladimir Harkonnen)as Constable Gillispie
- Clarissa Kaye-Mason as Marjorie Glick
- Ed Flanders as Dr. Norton
Bonus: Three of the Most ’70s Photos You Will Ever See
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
This was what passed for intensive care in Salem’s Lot’s hospital in 1979. That’s pretty scary in itself.
Credit: Warner Bros/Shudder
Give 1979’s Salem’s Lot a watch, and let us know what you think!
Salem’s Lot is available on DVD and is on Shudder. Check your streaming service for further availability.
