Every year we have a tradition in the Forto house where we celebrate the greatest month of the year, October, with scare your socks off, hide under the covers, turn on all the lights, sleep with one eye open, fright fest, movie marathon every night of the month! We call it 31 Days of Horror.
31 Days of Horror: Salem's Lot
Day 23 Movie: Salem’s Lot (TV mini series 1979)
Salem’s Lot is an adaptation of Stephen King’s Jerusalem’s Lot later changed to ‘Salem’s Lot for King’s second published novel. As we have said in many of the movie reviews this month that often King’s work is changed a bit in the movies such as Desperation, The Shinning, and the upcoming Carrie.
Directed by Tobe Hooper (of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame) he hit it right on with this version of the vampire tale. What I like most is the unique way that he positioned the vamp’s teeth as the front two teeth rather than the typical “canine style” found in most Vampire movies. While this is a point of contention to many fans because the book had the blood sucker as a speaking vampire versus the hissing Nosferatu-like character in the film.
Fun Facts:
The Jeep in the opening scene is a 1975 Jeep CJ5. I remember when I saw this movie when I was just eight years old that I wanted a Jeep. I finally got one in 2006. Thanks Michele! A 1990 Jeep Wrangler YJ soft-top!
Salem’s Lot had a significant impact on the vampire genre, as it inspired the horror-comedy Fright Night (1985) and the scenes of vampire boys floating outside windows would be referenced in The Lost Boys (1987) and spoofed in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror IV episode Bart Simpson’s Dracula. Salem’s Lot has also been cited as one of the primary influences for Joss Whedon’s hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The mini-series was re-made and aired on TNT in 2004 and stared perennial King movie fav, Rob Lowe. Lowe was also in The Stand mini-series.
Plot: Young novelist returning home to Salem’s Lot after many years is disturbed by the strange behavior of its people. He begins to believe that the source of the trouble may be the eerie old Marsten House that overlooks the town
What is your favorite scary and/or Halloween movie? I would love to hear from you!
Day 1 Movie: Trick ‘r Treat
Day 2 Movie: The Exorcist
Day 3 Movie: Nosferatu
Day 4 Movie: White Zombie
Day 5 Movie: The Serpent and the Rainbow
Day 6 Movie: Creepshow 2
Day 7 Movie: The House of 1000 Corpses
Day 8 Movie: The Blob
Day 9 Movie: The Devils Rejects
Day 10 Movie: The Shinning
Day 11 Movie: The Omen
Day 12 Movie: The Thing
Day 13 Movie: Embrace of the Vampire
Day 14 Movie: (Stephen King’s) Desperation
Day 15 Movie: Dracula (1931)
Day 16 Movie: The Wolfman (1941)
Day 17 Movie: The Amityville Horror
Day 18 Movie: Frankenstein (1931)
Day 19 Movie: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Day 20 Movie: Halloween (1978)
Day 21 Movie: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Day 22 Movie: The Creature from the Black Lagoon
Day 23 Movie: ‘Salem’s Lot
Robert Forto | Team Ineka | Alaska Dog Works | Mushing Radio | Dog Doctor Radio | Denver Dog Works
___________________
Dr. Robert Forto is a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular radio shows, Mush! You Huskies and The Dog Doctor Radio Show
Fortos' Fort 
October 24, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Never knew this movie is why you wanted a jeep!