For example, Rocky II, Apocalypse Now, and Alien were also released in 1979, and the differences between those Blu-rays and this one are massive. Sure, a TV movie from 1979 will not have the highest production quality and I am sure the source is not in the best shape, but there is no way that Salem’s Lot looks as good as other HD masters from that era. I have seen other reviewers mention that it looks “on par with films from the era”, but I disagree. This Warner Brothers release is the first time Salem’s Lot has been released to home media in HD, and understandably, there was a lot of demand for the HD remaster. I recommend this as a genre film, but probably not as a mainstream watch for all of our readers. There are a lot of things in the film that clearly point to this being a TV production versus a feature film, and the look and feel is different than most Hollywood feature films, but true fans of the genre will appreciate the effort, and Hooper’s control of horror is as good as anyone in the industry. Although it can drag a little, and vampires are not my villain of choice by any means, I did have an enjoyable experience with Salem’s Lot. I think that horror fans will enjoy this story, and if you are a diehard fan of King, it is a must-see. I thought that this was cool, and it makes sense why King considers Salem’s Lot to be one of his favorite works. I felt like the author character, Ben Mears, was heavily influenced by King himself, while the young horror fan, Mark, is likely a representation of a younger King. You can clearly see King inserting his own personal influences into Salem’s Lot, as it follows an author and young horror fan who fight to protect an old Maine town from evil vampires. Big fans will appreciate this, as it cuts no corners like some other film adaptations do, but personally, I felt like there was a lot of filler. I honestly had a hard time keeping my attention on the screen at times due to the length it is extremely descriptive and faithful to the book. The book is just 439 pages long, which is a good length, but not nearly as long as some of his other works, and yet it was stretched to over 3 hours of TV. Salem’s Lot is one of King’s lesser known works, and the film version was done as a TV mini-series in 1979 directed by Tobe Hooper, much in the same format as IT. Classics like The Shining, Carrie, The Shawshank Redemption, and Misery call to memory dozens of great movie moments. I love Stephen King as a writer, and the job that has been done adapting many of his works to film has been high-caliber.

Salem lot movie blu ray