“Salem’s Lot” presents a very humanistic approach toward vampire folklore. Ben Mears, filled with desperation and literally nothing left to lose in the face of a fantastic situation, finds himself in a local morgue prepared to face down one of the unholy walking dead by taping together two tongue depressors and scotch tape, supplying a makeshift crucifix. This little device ultimately aids him in the battle with a horrific vampire who slowly rises from her sheet in all her terrifying glory. It about sums up the whole of “Salem’s Lot,” a film wrapped around despair and tension where a small town’s unrest and inner turmoil of infidelity and abuse is brought to the surface when faced with a hidden menace in the shadows, in the form of a vampire striking down town residents one by one.
“Under the Dome” from CBS is interesting but how many seasons are you willing to wait to see what the hell the dome covering this town is? You could easily go to the book or find the cliff notes for Stephen King’s original novel, but who says CBS is following that ending to a tee? Frank Darabont changed the ending to “The Mist,” and Stanley Kubrick completely changed “The Shining” so if you know what the dome is, you’re likely wrong about what the writers have planned for it.
