Salem's Lot (1979)

Oh wow...I just watched this again last week for the first time in probably 15 years. What a difference! It was no longer spooky or scary! For some reason, the writer of this movie decided that the vampires were somehow unable to talk normally once they crossed over, they were seriously like chewing on their own tongues when they talked, and additionally, they GROWLED!!! WHAT??? Vampires growling? And the head vampire is BLUE. Yes, powder blue, in an obvious plastic mask. Again, very random. And he never talks either just growls.

Now the little boy at the window is still pretty freaky (if any of you remember this movie, the supposed scariest part is the little boy just turned vampire, floating outside his friend's window and scratching at it)...BUT, ok, no one would let him in, and when he gets in he comes over to his victim, SLOW...AS...MOLASSES. WTF? Ok, so the victim could totally get away, call for help, alert the nation, whatever, he had plenty of time. Not realistic or suspenseful at all. Well, I guess we are talking about a vampire movie, so I guess realism is a perspective term here, but it should at least be a little bit believable that you might actually be in immediate danger if confronted by one of these creatures of the night.

And it wasn't just badly done becuz it was 1979. The director, Tobe Hooper, is the same guy who did Poltergeist, just 3 years later, and that still remains in my book as one of the scariest movies of all time. But yet I can't say that Spielberg is a better writer than King, so it's not that either.

Anyhow, I have also rented now the newer version of this movie w/ Rob Lowe (2004)...I'll let you know if they somehow made this movie into the scary story it actually was when it was a book. I'm still not so sure that anyone can really turn a Steven King novel into a good movie. And I'm a HUGE fan of the books, but trying to convert those written images to the big screen? Not sure it can be done well. But hey, I invite any screenwriter to prove me wrong. Until then, I'll be here waiting and tearing them apart. :-)