“Salem’s Lot” (2004)

Salem’s Lot

Grade: C+

A made-for-TV movie that originally aired on TNT in 2004, this adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot doesn’t contain nearly enough spookiness or imagination (or differences from the previous made-for-TV movie adaptation) to justify a solid recommendation.

Directing:

The original Tope Hooper-directed Salem’s Lot miniseries which aired in 1979, while not perfect, is the definitive adaptation of King’s vampire novel, and is far superior to this two-episode production directed by Danish cinematographer Mikael Saloman, who brings a cinematic touch but, whether for reasons artistic or budgetary, employs an anti-horror aesthetic by filming most of the story in the daylight.

Acting:

Salem’s Lot is an ensemble piece that explores the many denizens of the cursed titular town, but — echoing the literary thesis of lead character Ben Meers — the evil unfortunately outweighs the good: Rob Lowe (who also featured in the 1994 King miniseries The Stand) and Andre Braugher deliver fine performances as relatable reluctant heroes, but Donald Sutherland and Rutger Hauer are so cartoonishly over the top as the villains that they suck all the scares from the film’s final act.

Writing:

Because Salem’s Lot remains pretty faithful to King’s original vampire tale, there are scares to be had despite the bad acting, especially in the second half; however, there aren’t enough storytelling differences between this adaptation and Hooper’s 1979 adaptation to recommend to anyone other than the most ardent King completist.

Music:

The ambient synth/string/vocal music from composers Christopher Gordon and Lisa Gerrard is effectively creepy enough — it was even nominated for an Emmy! — for a cable TV miniseries.

Ending (SPOILERS):

In both adaptations of Salem’s Lot, the endings are rushed and unfulfilling, with big bad Barlow not putting up much of a fight, a letdown that undercuts the spooky events leading up to the climax.

(Quick aside: according to Rob Lowe in his memoir, Love Life, Hauer improvised a pretentious soliloquy about being a cowboy for Barlow’s deathbed scene and, after it was discovered that Hauer hadn’t bothered to memorize his lines, director Saloman was forced to film the scene at an angle so Hauer could read from cue cards.)

“You guys hear about the hippie vampire? He’s ghoul, man, really ghoul.” — Mark Petrie

Why Salem’s Lot gets a C+

Occasionally creepy but not scary enough, akin to other forgotten King TV adaptations, like ABC’s Rose Red (2002) and Kingdom Hospital (2004).

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