The Best Vampire Movie is Stephen King’s Classic Kept Away from Modern Audiences
Posted by Brian Myers | Published
Not only have Stephen King’s novels and short stories delighted fans for decades, but screen adaptations of his magnum opus have also been the stuff of nightmares. Whether it’s the car driven by Christine killing teenagers or the creepy character Pennywise stalking and killing children, the transformation of King’s words on theater screens has made the biggest entry into a horror experience.
Perhaps his most frightening adaptation was the 1979 made-for-TV miniseries This is Salem’s placea must-watch saga for horror fans but sadly no longer available for free streaming.
Shockingly, it’s in Maine
This is Salem’s place follows novelist Ben Mears (David Soul) as he returns to the small Maine town where he grew up. Ben finds himself drawn to Marsten House, an old mansion on the outskirts of town that has seen horrors take place within its walls over the years.
Accompanying Ben’s arrival is the appearance of Richard Straker (James Mason), an elderly man who moves into Marsten House and plans to open an antique shop in town with his invisible partner Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder).
Salem’s Lot is Full of Fun Times
As This is Salem’s place happens, several school children start disappearing. First, it’s Ralphie Glick (Ronnie Scribner), who is attacked and swept away as he and his older brother Danny (Brad Savage) walk home from their friend Mark’s one evening. However, little Ralphie soon returns. Danny is awakened by the sound of scratching at his bedroom window and sees his missing brother floating in the mist on the other side of the glass.
Under hypnosis, Danny opens the window and lets his younger sibling float into the room and slowly bleed him out. When Danny is in the hospital, Ralphie visits him again outside his hospital room window and is allowed to finish the job. This is Salem’s place he sees some members of a small village wear out and eventually die of a mysterious illness.
Mears feels that the Marsten House is connected to the disappearances and deaths and that Straker and the yet to be introduced Barlow are behind it all. This is Salem’s place builds a relationship between Mears, Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin), and Mears’ friend Jason Burke (Lew Ayers), who face the hidden evil Marsten House.
From the Director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
This is Salem’s place using the wise guidance of Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) and Harry Sukman’s thrilling score to produce a film that checks all the boxes for a classic horror film. Even before the audience gets to watch one of these bloodsuckers, the tension builds to an endlessly heated level. If floating vampire babies aren’t enough to produce nightmares, Barlow’s sudden appearance is probably the biggest scare in made-for-TV horror history.
Despite being low on production dollars, Hooper managed to give audiences realistic sets (especially the Marsten House), amazing acting from the stars, and some of the scariest vampires ever to grace the television screen.
A 2006 remake was produced for TNT and starred Rob Lowe. Although it is a good product, it pales in comparison to the original. A theatrical remake that was supposed to be released in 2023 by Paramount was shelved for a while before being sold to Max for a later release in 2024.
You won’t find the real thing This is Salem’s place free streaming on any streaming platform. However, curious horror fans can still find it on demand via YouTube and Apple TV+.
