Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

A Return to Salem's Lot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 15, 2021

The career highs and lows of director Larry Cohen are open for debate, but the helmer certainly created a peak in his filmography with 1985’s “The Stuff,” which vividly mixed horror and satire, taking on the 1980s with a clear vision for mischief. Never one to feel the pressure of performance, Cohen returned two years later with a pair of sequels nobody asked for, delivering “It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive” and “A Return to Salem’s Lot.” Tasked with providing a follow-up to a 1979 television miniseries without material inspired by Stephen King’s 1975 novel, Cohen elects to make the whole thing his way, enjoying artistic freedom as he crafts a riff on the original creation. Of course, Cohen doesn’t have much money to do anything special with the material (co-written with James Dixon), so he tries to generate weirdness in his own low-budget way, transforming a vampire story into study of American independence and human survival, filling the production with odd casting choices, which gives the whole thing a strong community theater vibe. Those expecting a direct continuation of the Tobe Hooper T.V. event should be aware that Cohen isn’t interested in sustaining the brand name, merely using it to provide his level of genre shenanigans.

While traveling through a remote country to study tribal rituals, anthropologist Joe (Michael Moriarty) finds his trip interrupted by a request to return home and care for his troubled son, Jeremy (Ricky Addison Reed). Looking for a chance to repair his estranged relationship with Jeremy, Joe takes the pair to Jerusalem’s Lot, taking possession of a house he’s inherited, ready to make a life for the pair. Instead of being immediately welcomed into the community, Joe is carefully studied by the residents, soon meeting Judge Axel (Andrew Duggan), who details the real reason the outsider was brought into town. The residents are mostly vampires, and they’re sick of hiding in the shadows since their arrival in America 400 years ago, counting on Joe and his reputation to craft a story about the bloodsuckers, allowing them to finally live life in the open. Rattled by the revelation, Joe backs away from Jerusalem’s Lot, but the locals aren’t ready to let him go, threatening to transform Jeremy into a creature of the night if the journalist doesn’t comply with their demands.

“A Return to Salem’s Lot” reunites Cohen with his frequent leading man, Moriarty, and thank goodness for that. If there’s anyone capable of selling the helmer’s occasional clumsiness, it’s Moriarty, who commits to the concept of a heroic anthropologist, slapping on an ill-fitting toupee and getting in touch with anger issues to play Joe, whom we meet in the middle of a jungle, observing an ancient ritual unseen by western eyes. His tribal breakthrough is interrupted by word of Jeremy’s behavioral issues, with his mother (Ronee Blakley) dumping the teenager off with his father, forcing the pair to get to know each other again after a long separation. The idea is to travel to Jerusalem’s Lot and embark on a housing restoration project, but once the pair arrive, things aren’t quite as peachy keen as they expect, treated as outsiders by the strange residents.

Jeremy is the most interesting character in “A Return to Salem’s Lot,” finding the surly teen unafraid of parental influence, happily lighting up cigarettes and launching cuss words at his dad, who periodically allows the underage boy to drive his car. Jeremy has abandonment issues, and that’s about it for the emotional connection between the twosome, with their domestic situation quickly set aside to deal with vampire exposure. Joe listens to a pitch to sell the monsters to the world, and Jeremy is tempted by Amanda (Tara Reid, making her screen debut), who’s part of the vampire cult, introducing the concept of child marriage, which is one of the stranger ideas in “A Return to Salem’s Lot,” but Cohen doesn’t delve too deeply into this disturbing ritual.

The writing explores the working parts of Jerusalem’s Lot, overseeing the feeding process for the vampires, who dine on cows to maintain secrecy, but happily devour wayward humans, including some punks who sass mouth local law enforcement, and the children swarm a pair of homeless drunks who don’t expect evildoing from innocent faces. “A Return to Salem’s Lot” gets somewhere passable with Axel and his plea for Joe to help dispel vampire myths, creating a puff piece about the community, chronicling their nighty activities. Joe soon realizes he can’t escape Jerusalem’s Lot, offered a temptation from his past in Cathy (Katja Crosby), an ex-girlfriend who’s happy to satisfy his desires. Cohen doesn’t have King’s story to follow, so charts his own way through the “Salem’s Lot” universe, which involves a lot of B-movie exploitation and periodic use of special effects, including some puppetry to provide fans with vampire imagery that has no connection to the 1979 miniseries.

“A Return to Salem’s Lot” loses its way often, finding Cohen forgetting what kind of story he wants to tell, and performances are mostly broad and theatrical, missing the point of movie acting, though Moriarty’s freak-outs are always welcome. The second half of the feature introduces Van Meer (Samuel Fuller), a Nazi hunter making his way into town, quickly teaming up with Joe to destroy vampires. A well-regarded director, Fuller isn’t a polished thespian, but his rawness works for Cohen, adding some irascibility to the film (which doesn’t seem like a performance choice) and bits of humor, raising up a droopy production for a handful of scenes.

A Return to Salem's Lot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation provides a clean view of the horror happenings in "A Return to Salem's Lot." Detail is strong, examining human and monster facial particulars, with puppet creations offering a rubbery appearance. Rural visits handle dimension, surveying small town expanse. Colors are sharp, with distinct primaries found around signage and decoration, and greenery is exact. Human skintones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is heavy and film-like. Source is in excellent condition.

A Return to Salem's Lot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix is at a bit of a disadvantage, working with Larry Cohen and the production's less than ideal commitment to crisp sound recording. Some hiss is present during the listening experience, and brief sibilance issues are encountered, but dialogue exchanges are acceptable, never losing lines along the way, and dramatic emphasis isn't distortive. Scoring cues support suspense needs and exploratory sequences, with a defined organ sound to add some gothic mood to the picture. Sound effects are basic, but register as intended, including growling monsters and snappier gunshots.

A Return to Salem's Lot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Trailer (:44, HD) is included, making repeated references to Stephen King, who is not involved in the production.

A Return to Salem's Lot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"A Return to Salem's Lot" is junky work from Cohen, who's clearly struggling at times to overcome a lack of budget, with crude editing often utilized to connect the dots on this confused picture. It's not a sequel and it's not a remake. It's just an opportunity to do something with the brand name, and while there's periodic weirdness to keep the endeavor mildly entertaining, Cohen's creative scrambling grows tiring in a hurry.