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The Story: Vampires run rampant in the small town of Salem's Lot, Maine.

Years after being away from home, Ben Mears (David Soul) returns to Salem's Lot to author a new book. Ben left Salem's Lot to pursue a writing career, and has since become a popular novelist. He soon finds shelter at a local boarding house and through his room's window he can see the Marsten House. The house itself has a checkered past and for some reason calls out to Ben.

Soon after Ben's arrival he drives up to the Marsten house to inspect it. It's here we see that the house has new occupants, Mr. Straker (James Mason) and Mr. Barlow. Straker owns a 'soon to open' antique shop and Barlow has yet to arrive, or so everyone is told by Straker. We're then introduced to Ben's love interest, Susan (Bonnie Bedelia). Susan is the daughter of the town Doctor and goes out with Ben the day they meet. Ben also strikes up a relationship with Susan's father and the two end up working together to find out why people are suddenly dying, or disappearing. The last key player in Salem's Lot is Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin). Mark is Salem's Lot's next 'BIG' writer and develops the theatre plays for the high school. Mark is also a heavy horror fan and his room is decorated with all sorts of classic horror goodies such as posters, masks and models.

It's not long until some of the townsfolk begin to feel ill (they've been bitten). Some of them even come up missing and murdered. All the while Ben is trying to figure out what exactly is going on. One night, during a meeting at Mark's house, everyone attending laughs at the fact that vampires could exist, and that they are the cause of the recent happenings. At this second, the house shakes and up from the floor raises the master vampire. After he kills Mark's parents, they realize the situation they're in and Mark vows to hunt the master and kill him. Ben and Mark then team up and together vow to rid Salem's Lot and the countryside of all vampires.

Do they succeed? Or does Salem's Lot become another breeding ground for the creatures of the night?

I'm about to show my age here, ahhh, but who cares. I first saw Salem's Lot when it aired on TV back in 1979. I was a Jr. in high school and fondly remember the movie scaring me quite a bit. In particular, the scenes of floating vampires outside of bedroom windows. There was just something creepy about dead kids scratching on the outside of a window in heavy fog wanting to be let in. In fact, if I had to pick one scary scene from the film today, that's what it would be. Sadly though, the film has not aged well and when compared to some of the horror films that followed it, it's quite tame. Sure there are moments of tension and moments of fright, but for the most part these are few and far between leaving the story to move along at a rather slow pace. And given the length of the film, just over 3 hours, this isn't something you'll likely watch too often.

Direction from Tobe Hooper is average at best. I'm not saying it's horrible, but many of the shots being setup, 'feel' setup. I also noticed in a couple of scenes that the shadow of a boom mic could be seen. On top of this, a couple of the sets look cheap and poorly built. Take for instance Mark Petrie's room. The walls look paper thin, and the furniture in the room looks as though it came from a dime store. The kitchen scene is another set that just looks poorly built. This is especially the case when the master vampire makes his visit. Speaking of the master vampire, we don't see enough of him. Although the make-up applied here isn't the best, it's also not the worst and it works for the brief time we see his face on screen.

To wrap it up, Salem's Lot was scary for its time, but it no longer holds up. If anything, it makes for a great popcorn movie on a Saturday afternoon.

NOTE: I have not had the opportunity to read King's novel so this review is based on that fact and is not a comparison of his writings. I'm sure, as usual, the book is better than the film.