Salem's Lot (2004 TV Miniseries)
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''Salem's Lot'' is a 2004 two-part television
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
which first aired on
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
on June 20 and ended its run on June 21, 2004. It is the second television adaptation of
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
's 1975
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
novel ''
'Salem's Lot ''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 American horror fiction, horror novel by author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King), Jerusalem's Lot ( ...
'' following the 1979 miniseries adaptation. Although the novel and original miniseries were both set in the 1970s, this version updates the story to take place in the 2000s.


Plot

Ben Mears attacks priest Donald Callahan in a homeless shelter in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, and they fall out a window. In the hospital where he and Callahan are taken, Ben is asked by an
orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. These duties a ...
why, as a Christian, he should not let Ben die for attacking a priest. Ben tells his story. Sometime earlier, Ben, a writer, returns to his hometown of Jerusalem's Lot (known as "'Salem's Lot") in Maine, to write a novel. He tells Susan Norton, a waitress and former art student, that when he was a child he entered the house of Hubie Marsten, a Prohibition-era gangster. Local legend has it the Marsten House is possessed by evil, and that Marsten was a devil worshipper who murdered children. Ben overheard Marsten begging for his life to some unseen evil force before seemingly hanging himself. Attempting to flee from the house, Ben believed he heard Marsten's last victim crying for help, but was too afraid to find him. Thirty years later, Ben plans to rent the house to find catharsis and gather material for his novel, but discovers it has been sold by Larry Crockett to antique dealers Richard Straker and Kurt Barlow. Salem's Lot is rife with dark secrets: Crockett is an immoral businessman who sexually abuses his teenage daughter Ruth. When Ruth spends time with a disabled garbageman named Dud Rodgers, Crockett gets him fired. Eva Prunier, proprietor of the boarding house where Ben stays, played evil games with Marsten when she and her peers were teenagers. Charlie Rhodes, cruelty-obsessed Vietnam veteran and school bus driver, torments the children he transports. Trailer park residents Roy and Sandy McDougall physically abuse their baby, blackmailing Dr. Jimmy Cody after he has an affair with Sandy. Following Straker and Barlow's arrival, young Ralphie Glick is murdered; his body is never found. His brother Danny sickens and dies after being visited by Ralphie, now a vampire. Dud Rodgers meets Barlow, who offers him freedom from his disability. Dud accepts and Barlow turns him into a vampire. Laborer Mike Ryerson buries Danny after his funeral, then also sickens and dies. Becoming a vampire, he tempts gay high school teacher Matt Burke, who repels him but suffers a heart attack. Ben's blossoming relationship with Susan causes jealousy with her old boyfriend Floyd Tibbits. Floyd is bitten by Dud and starts to become a vampire. After starting a fight with Ben, the two spend the night in jail. Ben refuses to allow Floyd into his cell, and he is found dead the following morning, having chewed open his wrists in an attempt to drink his own blood. Susan and schoolboy Mark Petrie are captured by Straker when they break into the Marsten house. Mark escapes, but Susan is taken to the cellar to meet Barlow. Ben, Mark, Callahan and Cody act as vampire hunters. In the Marsten house, they find Straker's body drained of blood. They destroy the vampires in the cellar, but Ben discovers Susan has been turned. Instead of destroying her, Ben intends to destroy Barlow, hopeful that Susan might be restored. After Barlow kills Mark's mother, Callahan tries saving Mark by confronting Barlow, but his religious faith is insufficient. Callahan is forced to drink Barlow's blood, turning him into Barlow's servant. Burke is murdered by Callahan. Ben, Jimmy and Mark realize Barlow is hiding at Eva's boarding house. As they arrive, Jimmy is killed by a booby trap. Ben and Mark destroy Barlow. Susan, still a vampire, tempts Ben into joining her. When Susan turns to attack Mark, Ben destroys her with a stake. Ben and Mark set the Marsten House afire, and during a chase with the vampiric Charlie, a gas station explodes. As fires spread, Callahan vows revenge against Ben. The town's vampires flock to him as their leader. As Ben concludes his story, the orderly realizes Ben was not acting alone. The orderly finds Callahan suffocated with a pillow by Mark. Mark slips into Ben's room and tells him the hunt is over. Ben suffers a cardiac arrest. The orderly finds Mark tells him he cannot believe the story, but lets him go. Doctors battle to keep Ben alive as he begins passing away, finally at peace.


Cast


Main cast


Supporting cast


Production

In February 2003, it was announced
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
had cast
Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...
as the lead in a new adaptation of
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
's ''
'Salem's Lot ''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 American horror fiction, horror novel by author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King), Jerusalem's Lot ( ...
'' with Peter Filardi writing the script and
Mikael Salomon Mikael Salomon (born 24 February 1945) is a Danish cinematographer, director and producer of film and television. After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s, earning tw ...
directing.
Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...
and
Samantha Mathis Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in '' Pump Up ...
joined the cast in April of that year. In his memoir, ''Love Life'',
Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...
stated that he had a difficult time working with
Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...
. Lowe said, "I once starred in a big miniseries that culminated with the villain giving a two-page monologue trying to goad me into killing him. The actor playing the bad guy wanted to ad lib his own version of the movie-ending speech. Although he was playing a vampire, he went into a soliloquy about being a cowboy. The director was not impressed. After a very tense negotiation, the actor was forced to shit-can his self-penned opus and stick to the original script. There was only one problem: He hadn't bothered to learn it." Lowe noted that because there wasn't time for Hauer to memorize the lines organically, his character's monologue had to be written on
cue card Cue cards, also known as note cards, are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the a ...
s and placed next to Lowe's head.


Reception


Critical response

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Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
gives the miniseries a 69% approval rating based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Salem's Lot'' is a bit anemic due to a dearth of proper scares, but its effectively creepy atmosphere and solid performances make for a respectable adaptation of Stephen King's revered novel." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the miniseries has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews"


Viewership

The broadcast of ''Salem's Lot'' drew 5.9 million viewers upon its debut, making it the number 1 longform program on basic cable for the year.


Accolades


See also

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Vampire film Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptat ...
*
List of vampire television series List of television series about vampires, creatures from folklore that subsist by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and ...


References


External links

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Official Website
{{'Salem's Lot 'Salem's Lot 2004 television films 2004 films Vampires in television Television shows set in Maine TNT (American TV network) original films American horror television films 2000s American television miniseries 2000s Australian television miniseries Television shows based on American novels Television shows based on works by Stephen King Films based on American horror novels Films directed by Mikael Salomon Television series by The Wolper Organization Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios American vampire films 2000s American films