eBay India SALEMS LOT BASED ON STEPHEN KINGS BOOK

Based on Stephen King's second published novel, Salem's Lot is a variation on Dracula. King subverts the story by making the gradual takeover of the town by vampires the focus of his story. Ben Mears (David Soul) is a writer who left Salem's Lot shortly after high school. He's haunted by a single image--the image of a man who committed suicide in a haunted house. He returns to Salem's Lot to write a novel based on his experience. In the process he falls in love with a local high school teacher (nicely played by a young and beautiful Bonnie Bedila)After the arrival of an antique's dealer (James Mason), children disappear and creepy things begin to happen in the town.

It's one of King's most accomplished early works. Originally meant to be directed as a feature film by George Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead), once Universal announced its remake of Dracula, the production company put the project on track as a television miniseries. Director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergist, Lifeforce) stepped in as director. While Hooper's direction is sharp particularly during the second half of the miniseries, his unusual restraint due to the constraints of television work against him. The best sequences (particularly during the last hour)capture all of the creepiness missing from the early part of the miniseries. Paul Monash's teleplay captures the best elements of King's novel. While it's a bit lacking in terms of creepiness during the early part of the production, Monash's script does manage to capture the small town atmosphere very well.

David Soul gives a thoughtful performance as Mears. Bonnie Bedelia is marvelous as Susan the high school teacher that captures his heart. The film is filled out with a great cast of strong character actors including Fred Willard, Elisha Cook, Jnr., Lew Ayres and Ed Flaunders. The production design and art direction doesn't betray the television roots of the miniseries like most projects from the same time frame (most notably the awful version of The Martian Chronicles). Part of this is due to the smalltown Maine Setting.