Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Salem's Lot

Play trailer 3:17 Poster for Salem's Lot PG 1979 1h 52m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
90% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Based on the Stephen King novel, Ben Mears (David Soul) has returned to his hometown of Salem's Lot to write a book about the supposedly haunted Marsten House that resides on a hill overlooking the small town. His project is curtailed, however, when he finds out that someone has bought the long-empty property. But when people around the Marsten House start dying mysteriously, Mears discovers that the owner of the mansion is actually a vampire who is turning them into an army of undead slaves.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Director Tobe Hooper and a devilishly charismatic James Mason elevate this television adaptation of the Stephen King novel, injecting the vampiric tradition with fresh blood and lingering scares.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (20)
Derek Adams Time Out It places the emphasis on Hooper's fluid camerawork, creepy atmospherics, and skilful handling of the gripping climax. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Gregory Nussen Screen Rant Tobe Hooper's 1979 adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot gets 4K restoration, highlighting its timeless horror and relevance to today's small towns. Rated: 8/10 Oct 1, 2025 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com ..works as a compulsive three-hour series, watered down from the book, perhaps, but still strong meat... Rated: 3/5 Jan 6, 2024 Full Review Kevin Carr Fat Guys at the Movies It's a little bit long, but it's worth checking out... It holds up much better than I remembered. Rated: 3/4 May 27, 2022 Full Review Max O'Connell Paste Magazine Hooper comes close to creating a modern-day Hammer horror film, punctuating a steady, stately dread with moments of shocking power. Feb 7, 2019 Full Review Jacob Knight Birth.Movies.Death. Undoubtedly one of the best Stephen King adaptations, and still manages to be scary years after it premiered in homes across the nation. Feb 7, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (961)
Eddie M The absolute best! I found it extremely scary in 1979 and still do in 2025. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/12/25 Full Review Josh H Basically a Universal Monsters movie directed by Tobe Hooper, with the scope of a Cecil B DeMille epic. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/30/25 Full Review Anastasios G Hokey. Disjointed script. Discontinuities galore. Unconvincing acting. Not scary in the least bit. A waste of time, especially at over three hours. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/16/25 Full Review Oui L Very creepy Vampire movie! Must watch! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/04/25 Full Review Lau S I love this horror movie! Damn great! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/29/25 Full Review MT C. I never knew Stephen King could be this bad. I’d consider myself a Stephen King fan and I hated this movie! It doesn’t even get remotely interesting until about 40 minutes in. The vampires are barely in this movie. Don’t go into this movie expecting a vampire movie, go into it expecting a snooze fest. Really boring and bad can’t recommend. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/25/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Salem's Lot

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Tobe Hooper

Director

David Soul

Ben Mears

James Mason

Richard K. Straker

Lance Kerwin

Mark Petrie

Bonnie Bedelia

Susan Norton

Lew Ayres

Jason Burke

More Like This

View All
Nosferatu the Vampyre 93% 83% Nosferatu the Vampyre Watchlist The Island of Dr. Moreau 54% 40% The Island of Dr. Moreau Watchlist Audrey Rose 57% 43% Audrey Rose Watchlist Amityville: The Demon 18% 18% Amityville: The Demon Watchlist Squirm 31% 27% Squirm Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot: Trailer 1 Salem's Lot: Trailer 1 3:17 View more videos
View All

Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot (1981) Salem's Lot (1979) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Based on the Stephen King novel, Ben Mears (David Soul) has returned to his hometown of Salem's Lot to write a book about the supposedly haunted Marsten House that resides on a hill overlooking the small town. His project is curtailed, however, when he finds out that someone has bought the long-empty property. But when people around the Marsten House start dying mysteriously, Mears discovers that the owner of the mansion is actually a vampire who is turning them into an army of undead slaves.
Director
Tobe Hooper
Producer
Richard Kobritz
Rating
PG
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 20, 2016
Runtime
1h 52m
Most Popular at Home Now