Salem's Lot

With the upcoming release of the new Salems Lot film on Max, I wanted to check out this original made for TV movie. It’s quite the interesting film, and I certainly see the appeal for it. It’s got a vibe like a slightly more mature Goosebumps episode. Which I LOVE the Goosebumps tv series, in fact it was one of the catalysts for me to get into horror as a kid! But this movie is certainly dated, and has clear flaws. First off, it’s 3 hours long… why? If you’ve ever read a Stephen King book, it certainly plays like one. It goes way out of its way to establish all the characters of the town, and even gives them equal screen time. This is fine! Only issue, is nothing happens while they’re doing that. Really nothing of true merit happens for the first 100 minutes give or take….  The runtime is not the issue, it’s the pacing. I appreciate the fleshing out of the town and the history within it. That’s fine. But cmon show me something! Luckily when things do happen, it can be pretty effective! There’s some great creepy imagery, and I’m sure this scared countless kids back in the day. Some of those window shots… great stuff! It’s certainly got atmosphere and it’s just cozy. This would be such a fun fall time watch with the leaves changing… so it’s certainly a mixed bag.  It’s also very anticlimactic lol… Some good, some bad, but it still comes out above average in my eyes. Dated and long, but cozy and effective.  Also, who allowed this poster to go so hard??!