On S List of Movie Reviews
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Salem's Lot (1979)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
11/04, 12/08
12/08:
As pretty as it can be, especially by made-for-TV standards, Salem's Lot is hampered by the slow buildup of
characters before it goes anywhere.
Running at an amazing length of three hours, it's typical of vampire flicks, being more like
The Amityville Horror meets Nosferatu.
David Soul's character was asked if a house could be inherently evil. Since it was a vampire doing the evil work,
that should answer the question.
The performances are okay, but it's Tobe Hooper's incompetent direction that bogs down the film. No wonder
why Steven Spielberg actually directed Poltergeist. By the time the vampire finally appeared,
I was like, "Wow...it took so long" At least an hour should be cut out to speed up the pace.
By the way, I've always thought Geoffrey Lewis bore an uncanny resemblance to Elisha Cook, Jr., and it's cool to see them
appear in the same movie. But they don't share a scene.
All in all, instead of terror, Salem's Lot is the ultimate in boredom.