Salem's Lot

[Ironhide]

I just watched this movie (the original from 1979) adapted from the Stephen King novel and it was pretty spooky to say the least. I really wish this movie could be be adapted to the BIG screen with a large budget and most importantly be faithful to the vampires form that movie. Any thoughts???

 

[StrainedEyes]

I thought the remake was very well done.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

The original scared the hell out of me when I was little. Especially:

Open the window. Open the window, Mark. Open the window, Mark. Please! Let me in! It's OK, Mark, I'm your friend. He commands it!

 

[danoyse]

This is my favorite Stephen King novel. I've never liked any of the TV movie versions.

The 1979 movie was definitely creepy, and the scene with Mike Ryerson and the scene in the morgue with Danny's mother were especially good. But they totally screwed up Barlow. He wasn't just some growling vampire, he looked like a man. And he had dialogue, and he was diabolically evil. When they show up at the house to kill him, thinking he doesn't know any of them...but they get there to find Barlow gone and a letter left behind by him that calls them all out by name and warning to Mark that he's going to go after his parents that night. He also leaves them Susan for Ben to kill.

It just didn't go into the way the town vanished enough. That was the creepiest part of the book. On it's own, it's not a terrible movie...but it pales next to the book.

I didn't like the 2004 version at all. They made some really dumb changes that made no sense, and still Barlow was all wrong.

So YES, I would love to finally see a GOOD movie version of Salem's Lot.

Maybe they can remake IT while they're at it too.

 

[Ironhide]

The movie left a lot of gaps, like how the mother to the Glick boys becomes a vampire & also Susan. Also, whatever happened to the people of Salem's Lot who were bitten once (like the Deputy & the lady who rents out the room to Ben Mears). They should have included more scenes with more vampires and a little gore here and there.

 

[Victarion]

Maybe they can remake IT while they're at it too.

That would be a monstrous challenge my friend. What would it be rated? NC-17 or a hard R due to that business with Patrik Hockstetter and Beverley ****ing the Losers. Not to mention the showdown Bill has with IT at the very end and all the bits regarding the Turtle.

BTW, if there's any Dark Tower fans here, I have a question. I got a copy of The Waste Lands with the artwork by Ned Dameron and there's one picture that sticks out called "Prancing and Cavorting"...are those grotesque critters featured in this book?

---Morzan

 

[StrainedEyes]

That would be a monstrous challenge my friend. What would it be rated? NC-17 or a hard R due to that business with Patrik Hockstetter and Beverley ****ing the Losers. Not to mention the showdown Bill has with IT at the very end and all the bits regarding the Turtle.

BTW, if there's any Dark Tower fans here, I have a question. I got a copy of The Waste Lands with the artwork by Ned Dameron and there's one picture that sticks out called "Prancing and Cavorting"...are those grotesque critters featured in this book?

---Morzan

There was a plan like a year ago to remake It from Beverley's perspective. It was going to be a sci-fi channel mini-series.

 

[danoyse]

The movie left a lot of gaps, like how the mother to the Glick boys becomes a vampire & also Susan. Also, whatever happened to the people of Salem's Lot who were bitten once (like the Deputy & the lady who rents out the room to Ben Mears). They should have included more scenes with more vampires and a little gore here and there.

There wasn't a lot of gore in the book. The longer version of the mini-series (there's a feature-length version and the full mini-series) includes the scene from the book where Danny's mother collapses and tells her husband that Danny had visited her in the night.

I don't remember anyone just getting bitten once in the movie. Nolly, the deputy in the book, was Susan's first victim. He had found Susan's abandoned car, and Barlow was nearby and sent Susan to attack him (he had bitten her after she and Mark were captured by Straker in the Marsten House, which happens much earlier in the book). Nolly became a vampire like the rest.

Eva, the owner of the boarding house, was bitten by Weasel, the drunk that also lived there. They were the ones who helped move Barlow's coffin into their cellar.

Ralphie Glick was never a vampire in the book. He was sacrificed by Barlow (he actually ate Ralphie), who later went and finished off Danny in the hospital. The first appearance of a vampire tapping on the window is when Danny visits Mark.

Another thing that was left out was Father Callahan. He gave himself up to Barlow, who then forced Callahan to drink his blood instead. Callahan doesn't become a vampire, but when he tries to go back to his church, he's literally blasted back from the doors by some unseen force that will not allow him back. He winds up leaving town...and later ends up in the Dark Tower series.

One day, maybe we'll have a really good movie adaptation. I still hope.

 

[:eek:]

Gary Dauberman To Direct Salem’s Lot
Posted: April 11, 2020, 02:05:51
Section: Film » Salem's Lot
According to the Hollywood Reporter Gary Dauberman (who’s already been tapped to write the sript) has now also closed a deal to direct New Line’s remake of Salem’s Lot. James Wan is producing with Roy Lee and Mark Wolper.

This will be the third time Salem’s Lot is filmed.

Copied from Lilja's Library: Lilja's Library - The World of Stephen King [1996 - 2020]

 

[Babillygunn]

I love the 1979 version.

 

[SupermanFan]

I love the 1979 mini series from Tobe Hooper. The atmosphere they captured was incredible. Really hope the new one doesn’t just end up been a cash grab and actually tries to make it special.

 

[DarkKnight88]

The 1979 has that great sequence of the kid at the window but overall doesn’t work at all in other places. It really fails to capture the epic scope of the book of the entire town being turned - probably because of the TV budget at the time.

 

[-JKR-]

I have never seen the 1979 mini series, but I LOVE the make-up work which I've seen in pics.

 

[Boom]

The 1979 has that great sequence of the kid at the window

Pure nightmare fuel.

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

James Wan being involved in this is promising news. I want this movie to be great. I love the book

 

[The Joker]

I have never seen the 1979 mini series, but I LOVE the make-up work which I've seen in pics.

You really should watch it. It still holds up with some genuinely creepy scenes.

You'll enjoy Mr. Barlow......and he'll enjoy you.