Oh, man. This. Film. Where to begin?
Between my mother leaving me unattended to watch Cujo when I was a toddler, and my uncle torturing me with IT when made to babysit me, I can't honestly say I was a huge Stephen King fan as a child. Everything I knew about the man and his monsters made a semi-permanent note of how both man and monsters were pure evil, and I wanted nothing to do with that nightmare fuel that noticeably haunted me well beyond the point of it affecting sleep and sanity. That being said, for my thirteenth birthday inside of some now long gone film store located within' The Woodlands Mall, I absolutely had to get Salem's Lot. I refused picking out any other movie. Plus my idiotic logic was "it's $13 and I'll be 13 soon. It's a sign!" made it a done deal. My sibling's grandmother purchased it, told me "Happy Birthday", and with a sinister grin my stepfather stated we'd watch it later that evening when we got home.
Long story short, I wound up listening to most of the movie. You read correctly. I wound up listening to the movie from under one of the most itchiest blankets I've ever had the chance in my life to encounter. My sister alongside me, handling the stress of the film all the same, all the while pissing her pjs.
For the longest time afterward my sleep struggled. Once I managed to resume sleeping as I once had, I still couldn't stop envisioning Barlow in the shadows of the night inside my home. The effectiveness of the tension within' the film had seeped out into my life so masterfully, I couldn't even bare to look at the DVD's cover. All of the movies on the DVD shelf were alphabetically organized, and whenever Salem's Lot was at the end of either side of the shelf, I'd purposefully switch it with the closest film just to escape the chance of accidentally glancing at it. The case wasn't the only thing I didn't want to look at either. Windows were no longer interesting to look out of and unquestionably had to have the blinds drawn and curtains closed.
It took me fourteen years to want to revisit the film and actually act on it. In that entire fourteen years I never once forgot about Barlow and the town of Salem's Lot.
- - - ! ! ! Spoilers ahead. ! ! ! - - -
Today, after telling myself for the past few weeks how I'd "get to it tomorrow", or how I "have more important things to tend to", grabbed my blanket, my pillow, and laid down on the couch to enjoy another beautiful Tucson monsoon with Salem's Lot ready to play.
For the first couple of minutes (no more than thirty) I noticed I was trying to play on my phone to distract myself from actually delving back into the world of Salem's Lot. Surely I was overreacting from memories that couldn't have truly been that bad? I put my phone down, cuddled a dog (they'd keep me safe, right?), and let myself fall into in Tobe Hooper's vision of Stephen King's novel.
The atmosphere of the movie matched with the suspicion of every citizen in town had me drawn in. Even though I'd seen the film before, I was dying to know what was in store for these citizens, but more importantly what would Ben Mears uncover in his search for information about his work on the Marsten House? I was quite apologetic and frustrated with myself for eating while watching (or trying not to watch) the beginning of this film as the longer the film ran on, the more twisted my innards began to feel due to wild amount of unease that effortlessly streamed from the screen.
Then THAT scene came along. The scene I'd pictured in my head off and on for the last fourteen years. Ralphie Glick, assumed missing, levitating in front of his brother's window. Mystified, Danny of course lets him in. While this didn't have the same effect on me as it did all those years ago, you cannot deny the scene isn't enough to give anyone actually paying attention an immediate empty feeling in their stomach. The only thing throughout the film that provided a much needed relief from this recurring tension (as unintentional as it might have been) was Mears' Jeep doors never quite closing when he wanted them to.
In regards to vampire films, it is hands down one of the best representations I can think of. Barlow isn't about tempting his victims with their desires. There's no gimmicks to him. He is the undead. He is the master. He wants the people within' the small town of Salem's Lot and he'll be damned if he doesn't do what is needed to get them. Mostly unseen within' the film, what's most haunting about Barlow is his undeniable presence, even during daylight. While we don't see him that often, we know he's there lurking, planning, waiting for darkness to make his move. Having taken out the Glick family as well as other citizens of Salem's Lot, aided by Straker, Barlow proves he is a force to be reckoned with.
What this made for TV film manages to do beautifully is that it proves that gore and silly jump scare tactics aren't needed to make a film terrifying. Over the top violence isn't necessary to make your audience mortified. You don't have to constantly show your viewers the "big bad" to keep their presence known, or keep the threat there.
The 70s was undoubtedly a fantastic time for horror, giving birth to some of the greatest and most memorable horrors of all time. Some of the more notable ones being Suspiria (77), Black Christmas (74), The Amityville Horror (79), The Omen (76), Alien (79), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (74) - you get the point. What blows my mind is that hardly anyone (that I've seen) talks about Salem's Lot as proudly and passionate as they do for some of the films mentioned. It's truly a shame because as far as horror goes, I've yet to see a film that puts so much dread in my heart as Salem's Lot managed to do. Not to mention how long that feeling stayed with me. Even as I write this, no longer a child haunted by things existing in the world of fiction, I've jumped and looked over my shoulder a few times due to little noises from outside alarming me with the thought in the back of my mind of "Oh god. They're here."
Tobe Hooper managed to set a standard for vampires in cinema with this Stephen King novel, and it's hard for me to find something that is worthy of comparison. Salem's Lot will forever have a bittersweet place in my heart.
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