Stephen King: Salem's Lot

King's material so rarely makes it to the screen properly. I've all but given up hope on seeing anything from him in the theater or on television that is worth watching.

He's a master of horror, drama, and suspense. A writer that our grandchildren will likely study in school; as we've studied so many classics in different genres. But when our grandchildren take those college-level classic literature courses, I do hope they leave out the details on the screen-adaptations of such "classics" as Pet Semetary or Maximum Overdrive or Christine...

That said, there are a few gems that stick out - in the horror genre. I'm not going to debate the merits of Shawshank or The Green Mile or Stand By Me. We all know that those are ... different.

The Stand was butchered. They had the right idea, at least - not to try to tell the story in 2 hours. But they were on the right track. The Storm of the Century was decent. But that was written specifically for television.

Which brings us to my point - Salem's Lot. A great book. A good original film (given the era...not so great anymore). And now, this new version. Fans of King decry just about anything that taints their memory of the original work. Me, I'm just happy to see it done decently after so many disappointments. This new version is pretty good. There are plenty of changes ("updates") to the story and characters - and the fans have whined incessantly about it. But they were necessary to avoid anachronistic cheese and to help the viewer relate better to the characters. The story is well-paced and it actually looks really good. There is a notable lack of campy filler and the usual dung that litters the majority of King's past films/series.

All in all, I give it 7 out of 10. Well worth the watch.

All,

Sad but true, Stephen King novels cannot be turned into movies without losing some of the authors original intent. The 2004 attempt to bring 'Salems Lot to the "little screen" suceeded in some aspects, but failed miserably in others. Where as the 1979 version of the film scared the living be-Jesus out of us (I still cannot sleep with the shades open at night), I can truthfully say that I don't think I ever read our 18th century or earlier vampire villain Barlow screeching something like a person who has had one to many Macnonalds cheese burger at 4:00 in the morning (wheeeee). I don't know about the rest of the known universe, but I've always envisioned Barlow as a blood thirsty sophisticant. An individual of unspeakable evil, yet a person cultured and refined. I don't think Rutger was able to achieve that definition. It seemed to me that he carried his role from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (Donald Sutherland????) over to this production. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed most of Rutgers' work, Blade Runner especially, but I really think he kinda missed the mark with this role. As far as meeting in the middle. I think the 2004 version of the film somewhat stayed true to the original book, but lacked the overall psychological punch of the 1979 version. Which leads you to the question...Can we ever achieve a fine balance with regards to a Stephen King novel brought to the big or small screen.....

Salem's Lot, the miniseries SUCKED big time...and not just in a vampire sort of way.

When is TV going to get this book right?

Where should I start with what is wrong with this series? So little of it was good or done properly.

First of all, the series is TOTALLY different from the book, even more so than the '79 miniseries. I really enjoyed the book and was disappointed by this series.

The characters and story line are different from the book, and unfortunately not nearly as interesting or engaging.

Also this miniseries is NOT scary. They screwed up the two most scary parts of the book; when Matt Burke finds Mike Ryerson in his bedroom, and when Sue Norton and Mark Petrie go into the Marsten house.

Also why did they make Matt Burke a gay black? In the book he's an elderly White heterosexual. Changing this character hurt the story IMO.

I'd give this miniseries a "D" , which is a shame because it could have, and SHOULD have been so much better.

Another film adaptation of Stephen King's masterpiece 'Salem's Lot, one of the scariest novels ever written. Presented by TNT as a two part mini-series.

Ben Mears returned to ‘Salems Lot, the small New England town where he was born, hoping to write the novel that just might put to rest what had happened to him as a boy in the old Marsten House. Unfortunately, Richard Straker and Kurt Barlow had other ideas.

A bit different than the 1979 version, mainly due to modern computer generated enhancements and Peter Filardi's loosely adapted teleplay.

Comparing the two mini-series, neither followed the book closely, although Tobe Hooper's earlier version was the scarier. Rob Lowe was more believable as Ben Mears than David Soul, but neither Lance Kerwin nor Dan Byrd fit the book's impish image of 11 year old Mark Petrie. Donald Sutherland's Richard K. Straker character never had a chance to develop, but it could never have compared to James Mason's portrayal, he was much more sinister.

The second part was filled with great performances by the cast and fantastic special effects and was far more enjoyable to watch with Rutger Hauer as vampire Kurt Barlow, while James Cromwell as Father Callahan gave the best performance.

I loved this book so much and watched the original movie on t.v. When it aired as a kid. The original has always been one of my favorite vampire movies and i was totally jacked up to see this remake. God did it suck! Donald Sutherland was very good as crazed a Straker, but overall this was half the quality of the original. VERY Disappointing! I always thought the original was special because it was actually frightening for a t.v. movie. I wish so much that HBO had remade this film. The story is incredibly spooky and could have been sculpted into a fine remake, but i was thoroughly disappointed in the cheesy way they ended up making this film. It just has that "made for TV" feel to it. The casting was one of the many things i had a huge problem with. It seemed that the character's were all too young. Why make Matt Burke a gay man? That certainly wasn't in the book at all. ugh! Well, at least the star wars trilogy will be out soon on DVD. I sure hope that lives up to expectations...