A Return to Salem's Lot
Encyclopedia
A Return to Salem's Lot is a 1987 horror film
written and directed by Larry Cohen
.
plays an amoral anthropologist who has been lumbered with his dysfunctional adolescent
son and who returns to Salem's Lot, the town of his birth, to find that it has been taken over by the undead. A few living people are kept around to provide blood for the vampires and to operate the gas station and shops in the daytime. Knowing of the anthropologist's refusal to moralise about other people's lifestyles (in the opening scene he is seen refusing to interfere in a human sacrifice
and concerned only for the quality of the film he is shooting), the vampires employ him to write their story. As the vampires' evil nature becomes clear, the anthropologist is joined by a Nazi hunter
(played by Samuel Fuller
) who helps him save his son, and at the climax the master vampire is impaled on the American flag
instead of the traditional stake. As the trio escapes Salem's Lot, the vampires are left in the sun to burn along with their homes.
as it jettisons Stephen King
's original story and characters to explore the premise of a small town inhabited almost entirely by vampires. Cohen had previously written an adaptation of King's Salem's Lot novel in the 1970s, but it was deemed unsatisfactory by the producers and the original 1979 miniseries was ultimately adapted by Paul Monash
and directed by Tobe Hooper
.
A Return to Salem's Lot was mostly filmed in Newbury, Vermont
and featured a number of native townspeople in small roles.
An 11 year old Tara Reid
was also cast, making her screen debut.
theatrically in the United States
by Warner Bros in 1987. It was released on VHS
by Warner Home Video
the following year.
The film was released to on demand DVD
by the Warner Archive Collection
in 2010.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films - often containing a police procedural element - during 1970s and 1980s...
.
Plot
Michael MoriartyMichael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
plays an amoral anthropologist who has been lumbered with his dysfunctional adolescent
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
son and who returns to Salem's Lot, the town of his birth, to find that it has been taken over by the undead. A few living people are kept around to provide blood for the vampires and to operate the gas station and shops in the daytime. Knowing of the anthropologist's refusal to moralise about other people's lifestyles (in the opening scene he is seen refusing to interfere in a human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
and concerned only for the quality of the film he is shooting), the vampires employ him to write their story. As the vampires' evil nature becomes clear, the anthropologist is joined by a Nazi hunter
Nazi hunter
A Nazi-hunter is a private individual who tracks down and gathers information on alleged former Nazis, SS members and Nazi collaborators involved in the Holocaust, typically for use at trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity...
(played by Samuel Fuller
Samuel Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller was an American screenwriter, novelist, and film director known for low-budget genre movies with controversial themes.-Personal life:...
) who helps him save his son, and at the climax the master vampire is impaled on the American flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
instead of the traditional stake. As the trio escapes Salem's Lot, the vampires are left in the sun to burn along with their homes.
Cast
- Michael MoriartyMichael MoriartyMichael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
as Joe Weber - Samuel FullerSamuel FullerSamuel Michael Fuller was an American screenwriter, novelist, and film director known for low-budget genre movies with controversial themes.-Personal life:...
as Van Meer - Andrew DugganAndrew Duggan-Career:During World War II, Duggan was in the 40th Special Services Company, led by actor Melvyn Douglas in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His contact with Douglas later led to his performing with Lucille Ball in the play Dreamgirl. He developed a friendship with Broadway...
as Judge Axel - Evelyn KeyesEvelyn KeyesEvelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best-known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Axel - June HavocJune HavocJune Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, writer, and theater director. Havoc was a child Vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother. She later acted on Broadway and in Hollywood and stage directed . She last appeared on television in 1990 on General Hospital...
as Aunt Clara - Jill Gatsby as Sherry
- Ricky Addison Reed as Jeremy Weber
- James Dixon as Rains
- David Holbrook as Assistant
- Katja Crosby as Cathy
- Tara ReidTara ReidTara Donna Reid is an American actress. Reid has acted on television shows such as Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Days of our Lives, California Dreams, and Scrubs....
as Amanda - Brad Rijn as Clarence
Production
The film is an in-name-only sequel to 'Salem's LotSalem's Lot (1979 TV mini-series)
Salem's Lot is a 1979 American television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Stephen King...
as it jettisons Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's original story and characters to explore the premise of a small town inhabited almost entirely by vampires. Cohen had previously written an adaptation of King's Salem's Lot novel in the 1970s, but it was deemed unsatisfactory by the producers and the original 1979 miniseries was ultimately adapted by Paul Monash
Paul Monash
-Life and career:Paul Monash was born in Harlem, New York, in 1917, and grew up in The Bronx. His mother, Rhoda Melrose, acted in silent films. Monash earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master's degree in education from Columbia University...
and directed by Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
.
A Return to Salem's Lot was mostly filmed in Newbury, Vermont
Newbury, Vermont
Newbury could be either of the following places in the U.S. state of Vermont:*Newbury , Vermont*Newbury , Vermont...
and featured a number of native townspeople in small roles.
An 11 year old Tara Reid
Tara Reid
Tara Donna Reid is an American actress. Reid has acted on television shows such as Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Days of our Lives, California Dreams, and Scrubs....
was also cast, making her screen debut.
Release
The film was given a limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
theatrically in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Warner Bros in 1987. It was released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
the following year.
The film was released to on demand DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by the Warner Archive Collection
Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a manufactured-on-demand DVD series. It was started by Warner Home Video on March 23, 2009 with the intention of putting previously unreleased back catalog films on DVD for the first time ever. Using recordable DVDs, they custom burn discs for each order rather than...
in 2010.