Salem's Lot - Arrow Video Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

For many of us, certain films have shaped our childhood, and in some cases, even haunted our nightmares. I'm not pointing to those that gave rise to a love of cinema. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future take top honors in that regard. I'm referring to movies that left a lasting impression and are often only remembered in fragments. Or perhaps the memory of watching it invokes that deliciously blissful sense of nostalgia. For me, Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot is that movie, along with John Carpenter's Halloween right beside it. I wasn't allowed to read Stephen King's book until a few years later when my parents believed I was old enough to handle such a scary story. But by the time the made-for-television adaptation was about to be rerun on TV in the mid-80s, I was prepared to visit the quaint, peaceful New England town of Salem's Lot, Maine. As with so many other movie-watching memories cluttering the recesses of my mind, I still remember sitting in front of our ugly, brown-paneled Zenith console TV anxious for the terror to begin.

Needless to say, I was exceedingly thrilled to see the ancient, terrifying vampire with the deceptively amicable name of Kurt Barlow. Without a doubt, Reggie Nalder's performance and Jack H. Young's freakishly hair-raising makeup are just some of the most unforgettable aspects, metamorphosing into an iconic presence of the genre almost immediately. Taking obvious inspiration from Max Shreck's ghastly Count Orlock in F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, the character not only surpassed my expectations, looking far more ghastly than my young imagination could have conjured. But he also managed to loiter about my nightmares for some time after. Random thoughts would replay that hideous visage of a pale blue and hairless man with long, spidery fingers and violently green eyes jumping out the shadows as he did with the town's realtor and adulterer Larry Crockett (Fred Willard). Or the scene of him entering Ned's (Barney McFadden) jail cell and creeping towards the unsuspecting town bully from behind a thick cloud of fog.

Speaking of nightmare-inducing scenes, the images that have stuck with me the most throughout my life were those involving the kids of Salem's Lot, for fairly obvious reasons. As the town slowly fell prey to Barlow's hypnotizing gaze, it was the children looking like mini versions of Count Orlock that really made the movie utterly terrifying. And frankly, they continue to be a major reason behind the movie's lasting legacy and for making it a favorite cult classic. The first kid to turn was little Ralphie Glick (Ronnie Scribner) after losing his way at night in the forest and later visits his older brother, Danny (Brad Savage). Once at home and soon after at the hospital, in both instances, director Hooper and cinematographer Jules Brenner produce a terrifying image of a child floating from the darkness and fog that's been the cause of many a nightmare. Later, they turn up the scares when Danny visits his best friend and horror fanatic Mark (Lance Kerwin) by hearing Danny scratch at the window with spine-chilling effectiveness while innocently asking to be let in, which of course, Mark refuses.

For as long as I can remember, these are the visuals that have stood out most in Salem's Lot and preoccupied much of my imagination into adulthood. Revisiting the charmingly picturesque town again, I'm reminded of the wonderful performances by the cast, particularly Hollywood legend James Mason (Lolita, Bigger Than Life, A Star Is Born). Although Barlow is the story's ultimate villain, it's Mason as the creepily mysterious but gentlemanly antique dealer Richard Straker who keeps viewers in suspense. By all appearances, he carries himself with a charitably gentle air, but the dark rings around his sternly watchful eyes suggest a cryptic man with malevolent thoughts. The only person to suspect the newcomer is Ben Mears (David Soul), a moderately successful fiction writer returning to his childhood home because the house now occupied by Straker continues to haunt him. With the help of his new girlfriend Susan Norton (Bonnie Bedelia of later Die Hard fame), her father (Ed Flanders) and Mark, he tries to stop the vampire from destroying this peaceful corner of Americana.

And after four decades since its original television broadcast, the 192-minute two-part miniseries remains one of the best and most memorable vampire flicks. It not only takes inspiration from other horror classics, such as Murnau's Nosferatu and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, but it has also been a massive influence on many genre favorites, like Fright Night, The Lost Boys and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For me, it's a dearly beloved classic of my childhood that continues to entertain and arouse my imagination.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Courtesy of Arrow Video, Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot moves into the 4K Ultra HD neighborhood as a two-disc limited edition set without Blu-ray copies. Both region-free, triple-layered UHD100 discs are housed inside a black keepcase with an attractive and sturdy slipcover and reversible cover art. The package also includes a double-sided poster, a sticker, and a nicely bound booklet, featuring insightful essays by critics Sean Abley, Sorcha Ni Fhlainn, and Richard Kadrey. At startup, viewers are taken directly to a static screen with the usual menu options, full-motion clips and music playing in the background.

Mysterious strangers move into the quiet, peaceful town of Ultra HD, sporting a gorgeous and highly detailed HEVC H.265 encode that delivers a vast improvement over its Blu-ray predecessor. Arrow Films oversaw the remaster of both the two-episode TV miniseries, which was sourced from the original 35mm camera negatives, and the international theatrical version, which was sourced from the best available interpositive. And the results are just amazing.

Granted, the movie has never been much of a looker, generally falling on the softer side of things, but overall, definition and clarity are significantly sharper than the aforementioned BD. Meanwhile, healthy flesh tones expose every pore, wrinkle and negligible blemish. Bathed in a noticeable but appealing layer of natural grain, the Dolby Vision HDR presentation displays spot-on contrast and brightness, supplying every scene with clean, vivid whites and crisp, radiant specular highlights. At the same time, black levels are inkier and truer with excellent shadow details during the darkest moments, providing the 1.37:1 image with appreciable depth. The palette also is surprisingly bolder and richly saturated, showering the visuals in vibrant, full-bodied colors throughout.

Aside from a few poorly resolved sequences that are easy to overlook, considering the age and quality of the sources, the cult television favorite has never looked better on home video. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 88/100)

Vampires invade home theaters with a solid DTS-HD MA mono soundtrack for the original miniseries and extended cuts as the theatrical version is granted an uncompressed LPCM monaural track. While the design may not leave much of an impression or compare to others from the same period, all three lossless mixes appear faithful to their source, delivering precise, well-prioritized vocals from start to finish. Imaging can feel pretty narrow and limited to the center of the screen, but the mid-range is dynamic with superb separation and distinction between various noises and background activity. Each footstep through the Marsten House is clearly heard as the wooden floors creak, and the spooky, raspy voice of vampires and the scratching on windows have a nerve-wracking effectiveness. Meanwhile, Harry Sukman's score enjoys a nice sense of presence and warmth, and the low end is adequate and responsive, providing some appreciable weight and presence to the action. (Audio Rating: 84/100)

For this UHD edition, Arrow Films shows they know their fans, loading the package with tons of great supplemental features that appear to be exclusive to this release, and they are all spread out across both UHD discs. The first disc gives viewers the option of watching the original two-part miniseries, which are 96 minutes each, and the 183-minute extended cut. The second disc houses the 110-minute international version.

4K UHD DISC ONE

• Audio Commentary with director Tobe Hooper and only on the extended version
• Audio Commentary is a new and enlightening chat between film critics Bill Ackerman and Amanda Reyes
• Alternate TV footage (HD, 1 min) containing commercial bumpers and the original broadcast version of the death by antlers
• Image Gallery (HD) of the shooting script

4K UHD DISC TWO

• Audio Commentary is a new track by film critic Chris Alexander
• Second Coming (HD, 26 min) features critic and author Grady Hendrix sharing his appreciation for the novel and its cultural impact
• King of the Vampires (HD, 21 min) is a new interview with Stephen King biographer Douglas Winter
• A Gold Standard for Small Screen Screams (HD, 20 min) with film critics Joe Lipsett and Trace Thurman, co-hosts of the podcast Horror Queers, provide insightful commentary about the miniseries, book and some of the subtext themes
• New England Nosferatu (HD, 13 min) is a new interview with filmmaker Mick Garris
• We Can All Be Heroes (HD, 9 min) with film critic and co-producer of In Search of Darkness Heather Wixson sharing their appreciation for the film
• Fear Lives Here (HD, 7 min) tours the shooting locations with Elijah Drenner
• Image Gallery (HD) 
• Trailers (HD) for the miniseries, the sequel and the recent remake

Coming up to its 50th anniversary, Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot still haunts our imagination with several scenes that remain effectively creepy and nightmarish. The two-part miniseries adaptation of the Stephen King novel continues to be as entertaining as ever, thanks largely to Hooper's direction, the performances and the iconic visage of the vampire Mr. Barlow. Courtesy of Arrow Films, the 4K Ultra HD arrives with a gorgeous Dolby Vision HDR presentation and a trio of strong lossless audio mixes for all three versions. With a healthy and worthwhile collection of bonus material to enjoy, the overall UHD package is well worth the asking price and Highly Recommended. 

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