A Return to Salem's Lot (1987)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writers:

Stephen King (characters)
Larry Cohen (story)

Release Date:

May 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A man and his son vacation to the quiet vampire populated town of Salem's Lot.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Anthropologist | Homecoming | Small Town | Children

Cast

Michael Moriarty	...	Joe Weber
Ricky Addison Reed	...	Jeremy Weber
Samuel Fuller	...	Van Meer
Andrew Duggan	...	Judge Axel
Evelyn Keyes	...	Mrs. Axel
Jill Gatsby	...	Sherry
June Havoc	...	Aunt Clara
Ronee Blakley	...	Sally
James Dixon	...	Rains
David Holbrook	...	Assistant
Katja Crosby	...	Cathy
Tara Reid	...	Amanda
Brad Rijn	...	Clarence
Janelle Webb	...	Sarah (as Georgia Janelle Webb)
Robert Burr	...	Dr. Fenton

Runtime:

101 min | Germany:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:18 (cut) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Larco Productions

Trivia:

Filmed back-to-back with It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Joe socks his camera man on the river in the jungle, he socks the guys left eye. When the guy reacts, he initially grabs his left eye but quickly moves to the right eye and makes a big fuss.

Quotes:

Van Meer: I'm not a Nazi hunter. I'm a Nazi killer!

Movie Connections:

Follows Salem's Lot (1979) (TV)

It's NO Salem's Lot....

But not as bad as others might have you believe either. Michael Moriarity returns from South America to get his mal-adjusted son and brings him to a house he inherited in Maine in the cozy little town of Salem's Lot. This film has no bearing on the original source, nor is it a similair film in any way. Larry Cohen directs and creates his vision. He shows us a town where vampirism is an accepted and seemingly normal lifestyle. The story has plenty of flaws, and sure does ask you to do a lot of suspending belief, but it has at its core a pretty interesting story of a father and a son bonding amidst their own weaknesses and a horde of vampires. Moriarity is good and some of the character actors are in fine form, especially Samuel Fuller barking out one-liners and Andrew Duggan(his last film) as the head vampire with New England grace and charm. Some exceptionally weak areas are special effects. The evil vampire face is absurd-looking, like a mask from a shop! All in all, I enjoyed this very flawed film for its heart.