This Barlow is not the oily, suave vampire of the Bela Lugosi era, or the tuxedo-ed and seductive vampires that even in the ’70’s were fairly recognizable. And there is very little that can prepare a viewer for their first (and second, and third) sight of Barlow, the Big Bad of this story. A simple trick, perhaps, but an effective one. Instead of using wires, for example, to keep the vampires airborne, the production staff places the actors on boom cranes, and shot in reverse, so that their movements look as odd as possible. Part of this has to do with the ever-popular jump-scares and musical stings, but there was a good amount of consideration put into making each scenes effective and atmospheric. In many ways, the film has also withstood the test of time…the pace is a little uneven, but the parts that are supposed to be scary still pack plenty of punch. While things like this were probably jarring to readers (as is the California sets, full of flat-roofed buildings and big, sprawling hills), overall the production was well-received, earning three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for makeup, music, and graphic design. One can only assume that this is why he got the part, because Soul looking nothing like the Ben Mears of the books (who resembles King himself, actually). It starred David Soul as Ben Mears…yes, the same David Soul who had just finished playing Hutch in Starsky and Hutch. Nevertheless, it was something of a surprise to realize that the film was made only three years later, originally airing on CBS in November of 1979. The novel is an exceptionally current one (King says in the introduction to a later edition that he was always much more a writer of the moment than he wanted to be), with references to the Vietnam War, drugs, the ‘counter-culture’, as well as fashion and social behaviors of the day. ‘Salem’s Lot–a perennial favorite that we’ve discussed a few times before–was published in 1975, and was quickly hailed as ‘Peyton Place meets Dracula’, a commentary on the rich characterization, the constant and careful attention to setting and detail, and the gradually growing sense of horror and menace that overtakes this otherwise familiar setting.
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