Salem's Lot, 1979

Yep, Salem's Lot sounds like a witches-and-burning kind of film but no, it’s about vampires. A whole lot of them, as one big bad vamp takes a small town to hell.

The uber vamp is ugly as … well it would be best not to say, just ugly. He says nothing through the entire film, he just looks ugly and scary and very mean. He has an appetite for anything and everything, kiddies, old folks, pretty young things and of course the tastiest of them all, uuuummm, yummie man of the cloth…

The pace is swift and makes this epic TV series originally shown in two parts fly by, yeah three-something hours. There are even a couple of genuine “jump from your seat” moments and seriously it is hard to scare such seasoned viewers as P & M.

Convention would have it that most vamps want to remain anonymous, killing in secret for as long as they can before an angry mob runs them out of town. However, this vamp seems to want to make a real statement. “Hey, check me out,” “Lord of Darkness” scary and all.

His first victim, a little boy, is not killed outright and vamp’s henchman, Mr Straker, doesn’t seem to care about cleaning up after his master. So the bodies start piling up as the vamps go looking for tucker. It would seem this convention would have gotten in the way of telling a good story so the film makers just allowed for a blood bath. (I am not talking about the 1975 book on which it is based). This is not the only anomaly in this film.

While Salem’s Lot is not of the romantic or sympathetic vampire film type, it does aim to have it’s cake and eat it too. The romantic interest established early between the hero, Dan and local girl Susan, it used to justify a mystifying finish. All the local town folk who are turned into vampires show the same symptoms; they become animalistic grunting and hissing instead of speaking, display a blue-greenish tinge to the skin and a great set of fangs, as well as cat-like glow in the dark eyes.

But the sweet girl linked romantically to the hero doesn’t turn green and nasty; in fact she remains beautiful appearing well dressed and groomed, to seduce the hero in climax of the film. She whispers promises of eternal love and youth. He leans in for a snog and she fangs, snarling with her eyes alight with a supernatural glow. The hero is ready for this moment and stakes her. (Just like the tortured love affair between Lucy Westenra and Arthur Holmwood in Dracula.)