7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Vampires are invading a small New England town. It's up to a novelist and a young horror fan to save it.
Starring: David Soul, James Mason (I), Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew AyresHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 17% |
Mystery | 13% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Spanish=Latin & Castillian
English SDH, French, German SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Thai
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Salem's Lot was the second novel now prolific, and iconic, Author Stephen King had published, now four-and-a-half decades ago in 1975. It followed on the heels of his Supernatural debut hit Carrie (itself later adapted for the screen in a fine film from Brian De Palma). Only four years after publication, Director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) brought this sprawling story of a small town and its big vampire problem to the small screen with commendable fidelity to King's source novel. Yet as with the vast majority of page-to-screen adaptations the film is not entirely faithful, and some of the retooling may not please fans of the novel, but as an essential retelling that hits all of the high points it's rather good and a good bit of filmmaking in its own right.
Warner Brothers brings Salem's Lot to Blu-ray with a striking 1080p transfer. The then-standard TV aspect ratio of 4x3 is retained here, placing vertical "black bars" on either side of the modern 1.78:1 high definition display. The picture is quite sturdy. It's firm and finely filmic, retaining its natural grain structure and proving well capable of presenting all of the detail with first-class textural accuracy. Whether the wear and tear outside the Marsten house, storefronts around town, drab hospital room interiors, fine merchandise and appointments in the antique shop, or creepy cellars, there's always plenty of textural yield on display, with each element perfectly sharp and finely defined. It's a feast for the eyes that also extends to skin and clothing details, which are assuredly sharp and unwaveringly so. Vampire makeup is terrific; the sudden change to not just elongated teeth but also filthy mouths and decaying flesh – all the way up to Barlow himself, grey and decrepit yet still believably strong and rigorous – is of no challenge for this well capable Blu-ray. Colors are likewise well saturated. Contrast is perfect, capturing a tonal neutrality that holds in every location and condition: day or night, inside or out, high or low light. There's no color manipulation here to give the material a more surreal or reality dethatched look; the film blends accessible everyday coloration with supernatural, horrific narrative elements to fine effect. Clothes, natural greens, storefronts, blue skies, anything and everything enjoys sure coloring and deep tonal yield. Whites are crisp and black levels are terrific, neither appearing too pale nor crushing out necessary detail. The picture is essentially free of print wear and encode issues are nonexistent. This is a handsome, well rounded picture from Warner Brothers; fans will be well pleased.
Salem's Lot arrives on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. It's not particularly engaging, but considering the time in which the film was made (mid-1970s) and the context (for television) the net effect is positive enough. There's little in the way of range along the front; the sound comes across as relatively cramped in the center, seeming to stretch no further than the screen's confines, much of the time, rather than extend to the further, or furthest, reaches. Essential clarity to music, sound effects, and dialogue is fine if not underwhelming at the source. There are a few moments of amplified sonic output to match narrative and on-screen intensity. These moments are effective, though certainly were the movie made today the sound design would be much more substantial and critical in enveloping the listener into the story. As it is the sound design is fine and the Blu-ray output seems perfectly reflective of the source and well capable of bringing the best out of it. It does not stretch or test sound systems in any way, but it's a fine, if only essential, reproduction of the original source elements.
It's pretty slim picking as far as supplements go, but Salem's Lot does include a three-hour audio commentary track.
As Vampire films go, Salem's Lot is still one of the better ones, thanks in large part to the excellence of its source material. But it's also thanks to Tobe Hooper's effectively atmospheric filmmaking. He holds back on the gore and works more in the domain of the suggested and the implied, but also still much in the way of physical violence, simply watered down for television purposes. But effective Horror films need not gore to make a point, and Salem's Lot is proof positive of the power of story, suggestion, and the supernatural to sell the scares. Warner Brothers' Blu-ray may be a bit thin on extras -- the commentary is great but there's really nothing else of note -- but the video presentation is first-class and two channel audio track is well capable of recreating the somewhat minimalist sound design. Highly recommended.
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