note: This is a review that I wrote ten years ago. I don't remember where it was originally published. I thought it was on my old website but I believe I had shut it down by then.
So when I
heard that director Tobe Hooper had written a book I have to admit that I was a
bit dubious.I mean the guy knows how to
shoot a horror film and create atmosphere like no other.Not only is the original Texas Chainsaw
Massacre genius, but Salem’s Lot is the best King adaptation ever and the
Funhouse is very creepy.But I’ve never
felt like his strength was the plot or storytelling.So how could this translate to a book where
that is about all he had to work with?
The short
answer is that I was wrong and totally underestimated Hooper.The book tells the tale of his fictional
first movie called Destiny Express.When
a local kid from Austin Texas digs up the only copy and decides to show it at a
rundown bar he invites Hooper as a special guest.But watching the movie has a strange effect
on everyone that watches it.Some become
suicide bombers, others zombies, and some develop a strange STD that causes
colorful things to happen.Collectively
this is referred to as the “Game” and it sweeps the country.It falls to Hooper (his fictional self in the
book) and others to stop the Game before it is too late.
I really
enjoyed this book.The story is told in
a very interesting way.Some of the
events are written in the first person, as you would expect.Though the perspective is changed from one
character to another.You also get
excerpts from blog postings, twitter, and emails.These help to fill in the blanks from
characters that wouldn’t be around to explain things after the fact.Now this could have been very confusing, but
it is handled in such a concise way that it works.There isn’t a wasted sentence or event
described.It makes for an interesting
and entertaining read.I found myself
unable to put the book down wanting to read just one more chapter.
One more
item that I feel the need to talk about is the man himself, Tobe Hooper.I’m not sure if it is his reputation or the
fact that he has backed out of so many conventions that he was scheduled to
appear at, but I never thought of him as someone whom I’d like to meet.Admittedly there have never been rumors of
him being a jerk or anything like that; I just thought he didn’t want any part
of the fans.My opinion has changed a
lot after reading this book.Sure it
might all be fiction but I’d like to think that the self effacing and down to
Earth Tobe from the book is close to the real one.I say this because the Tobe in the book
explains why he dreads public appearances and why they are such a pain.It is almost like he is trying to explain
himself to the fans thru the book.Then
again maybe I’m reading too much into it.
I highly
recommend Midnight Movie.It is a great
read and worth your time.I also have a
new found appreciation for a director that whose work I’ve always liked.Can it get better than that?
I knew
when I decided to do this made for television marathon that I’d have to cover
Salem’s Lot. Made for CBS I remember it was a big deal at the time. Stephen
King was just starting to become well known and the network managed to get Chainsaw
Massacre’s own Tobe Hooper to direct. That is a decent pedigree and a lot of
talent involved. Between this and the Dan Curtis output earlier in the decade
they make up the list of “must see” genre output for the small screen. With
that in mind it is time to dive into David Soul vs the Master in Stephen King’s
Salem’s Lot.
Things
open up in a church south of the border. We see a man and boy, who we later
find out are David and Mark, collecting holy water. The water glows blue and
David says that they have been found. Then the action shifts to a couple years
earlier. David Soul is Ben Mears, a writer who has returned to his childhood
home to write a book. He has vivid memories of the Marsten house which he
believes is evil. He had a strange experience before he moved away that
convinced him it was haunted and since he writes horror novels he wants to use
it as inspiration. When he returns to rent the house, he finds that it has
already been sold to a couple antique dealers, Straker and Barlow. At first
this is just annoying, but soon Ben starts to believe something is terribly
wrong in town and that the dealers might be the cause of it. It seems that the
evil house might have attracted evil men again. If only that were the case.
There
should be no spoilers about the true intentions of Straker and Barlow being how
famous the book and movie are. But just in case I will warn you some big ones
are coming in the next couple of sentences.Barlow, who is never seen until it is too late, is a vampire that has
chosen Salem’s Lot as his new hunting ground. Straker is his human servant that
protects him during the day and runs his affairs. Barlow’s appearance is more
of the classic Nosferatu than it is Dracula so he can’t be seen in public. In
fact, in the movie he never speaks, letting Straker speak for him. The town is
quickly overrun as the locals are turned into vampires that in turn create more
vampires. Ben eventually figures it out and with the help of a local doctor,
Bill, who also happens to be the father of his lady friend, prepares to do
battle with the undead. Also, along is Mark, a kid who is really into monsters
and figures out early on what is happening. Together they head into the house
for the big confrontation with Barlow and his minions.
Geoffrey Lewis makes a good vampire!
That might
be the longest synopsis I’ve ever written for a review, but then again Salem’s
Lot is more than three hours long! It was a two-night event and even though I
was not quite ten years old I still remember being very excited for it. This
was also my first introduction to the world of Stephen King, whom I later
became a huge fan of having spent many hours reading his books and shot stories.
Maybe it is nostalgia clouding my eyes, but I really enjoy Salem’s Lot and am
going to give you a few reasons why.
The movie
has a great cast. James Mason as Straker is menacing and larger than life in
every scene he is in. Given that he is the only visible sign of the danger for
a great deal of the movie this is a must. He creates the sense of foreboding
that carries the events along until the vampire Barlow appears on screen.
Elisha Cook Jr. has a small part as the local town drunk asked to keep an eye
on things. Not much screen time but the few minutes we get him are great.
Geoffrey Lewis gets more screen time and even gets to grow some fangs. He goes
from harmless groundskeeper to scary vampire in the span of a couple of days.
Fred Willard also gets to ham it up a bit as a randy real estate man who sleeps
with the wrong married woman!
Master Vampire Straker
The
direction and pacing of the movie are great. It would have been very easy for
such a long project to get padded and bloated to fill out the runtime. But
Hooper is very careful to make sure that doesn’t happen. There are a lot of
characters and moving parts to the story so there is plenty of material to keep
the audience interested without bogging down the main plot involving Ben. I
also thought the choice of the music and the liberal use of fog created a neat
gothic vibe where I didn’t expect it. More than once we see the vampire of a
recently deceased loved one come tapping at the window, gently floating on what
appears to be a cloud of fog. Fans who have grown up with 30 Days of Night or
God help us Twilight might not recognize the classic nature of sequences like
this. Before they were bloodthirsty monsters or tween love interests the
vampire used to be an ethereal creature that were scary without being
animalistic. I mean they will still kill the hell out of you, but in a classy
way.
The design
of the vampires is very simple, but incredibly effective. Barlow is the only
one that is full on Nosferatu with the pointy ears and bat like appearance. The
fresh vampires are basically the actors with some makeup to make them appear
grey and bloodless, topped off with fangs and killer contact lenses. Seriously
the contacts make a huge difference and make them look creepy as hell. This
goes to show that sometimes you don’t have to be elaborate to create an
effective monster for your movie.
I could go
on, I did mention that Salem’s Lot is three hours long, but it would be beating
a dead horse. This is a great movie, based on a great book, that was brought to
the small screen by a legendary director. It is a time commitment but worth
every second. You can’t call yourself a horror fan if you haven’t sat down at
least once and watched it.
