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Salem's Lot

Play trailer 3:17 Poster for Salem's Lot PG 1979 1h 52m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 19 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.
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Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot

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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.

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Critics Reviews

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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 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 Rebecca Lea Den of Geek Hooper's low key approach suits the material and he's aided at all times by some terrific production design work. Feb 7, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Jolin S In my opinion this is the absolute best version of the Salem’s Lot movies. Its build up to action & suspense is more entertaining. Now I need to give credit to the other two versions of the movie. Although not as close to the book they are still worth watching. If you are a big fan of collecting movies you will want to add all three to your collection. Enjoy them as I do. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/19/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Salem's Lot

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Cast & Crew

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Tobe Hooper

Director

David Soul

Ben Mears

James Mason

Richard K. Straker

Lance Kerwin

Mark Petrie

Bonnie Bedelia

Susan Norton

Lew Ayres

Jason Burke

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Salem's Lot

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