Symphony de Vector.

So you got it! Nice!

I had a mini Salems Lot marathon. Over the weekend I watched the original made for TV Salem's Lot movie from 1979, with David Soul and James Mason. Today I watched the most recent 2024 remake of Salem's Lot. I was quite pleased with both.

I think I still prefer the 1979 version. At 3 hours long, it takes its time and lets the thing simmer. It is not just a horror movie, it is a movie about the dirty secrets and banal lives of people living in a small town. Most especially it gives you a lot of time with the protagonist Ben Mears (played by David Soul), and the most prominent villain Straker (James Mason). Straker is not the vampire, but the vampire's human henchman. But he is the one of the pair that you see 99% of the time.

I was really impressed with David Soul's performance. He portrays Mears with a lot of vulnerability. It is clear his character is carrying around a lot of trauma from his past experiences as a child in Salem's Lot. James Mason is just fantastic as ever. He just chews the scenery. I even noted that in the beginning of the movie, there are several moments where he look genuinely afraid. Not of the townspeople, but I think of Barlow. I suspect he is afraid that unless he has a ready victim for Barlow when he wakes up, it will be his head on the literal platter instead.

The new version comes in just under 2 hours, and because of that it kind of glosses over a lot of the early story and much of the characterization. It starts with Barlow being delivered to the Marsten House, and we only see a handful of scenes with Straker. For the most part it follows the original story beats. But it does take some detours into fresh territory. I really liked how they worked in a drive in theater (it is still set in the 1970s). Once it gets going, it really gets going. The last hour is really good. Viola Davis (the doctor) really shines in a relatively small part in this, as does Jordan Preston Carter (Mark Petrie). That kid is a badass!

The new version also has a really good use of the Gordon Lightfoot song Sundown. Come to think of it, that song was quoted in the Vampire The Masquerade rpg as well.

I am not going to bother with the 2004 version with Rob Lowe. I have seen it before. While Andre Braugher was good in it, the rest of it was kind of meh. Both the 1979 and 2024 films were far superior.

Yeah I need watch the ‘79 Salem’s Lot. I saw the Rob Lowe one and as you said, meh.

Also, another classic song I’ve always associated with vampires is “Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest.

Very nice! The song I associate with vampires is Memory. It conjures memories of Buffy's time spent with Serana in Skyrim.

I suppose I am showing my Goth nature by putting forward Concrete Blond - Bloodletting...

Watched the entire 1st season of the Fallout series on Amazon back on Saturday. I have to say, I think they did a phenomenal job! My expectations were really low, but damn, it was actually really good!

Yeah, they really did do a good job with the IP. And supposedly season two is going to be all New Vegas, NCR - the good stuff!

Yeah I’m definitely interested in seeing more! I love the main characters, they are all spot on, and the story has very familiar beats from the games while being its own thing.

One little nitpick I have is with “The Ghoul”. He looks a bit too smooth and clean, and his voice doesn’t sound as gruff as it should be. Otherwise, I love the character. Definitely badass!