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Salem’s Lot, Still One of King’s Best

Published

7 years ago

September 22, 2017

Vampires have existed in fiction for well over a hundred years now, stretching back to John Palidori’s The Vampyre, published in 1819. In all that time, they’ve morphed into tragic heroes, romantic lovers, and even managed to…sparkle?

No. Real vampires are supposed to be scary. They stalk you in the dead of night, their bite draining you of blood and transforming you into one of them, doomed to wander in search of people to feed on yourself. That means stories like Nosferatu, Dracula, and Stephen King’s masterpiece, Salem’s Lot.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

Only King’s second novel, Salem’s Lot is his take on the story of Dracula and vampires, introducing them to the new world through the small town of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine. The story is focused on Ben Mears, who returns to Jerusalem’s Lot years after leaving as a child to write a book about the abandoned mansion call the Marsten House. Arriving at the same time is an Austrian immigrant by the name of Kurt Barlow. Not long after, people start disappearing, then reappearing in the dark depths of the night, thirsting for the blood of their family, friends, and community members. It falls on Ben, Susan Norton, a college grad, Father Callahan, and a young boy by the name of Mark Petrie to discover the source of the evil and battle it.

Salem’s Lot isn’t just my favorite. The year after it was released, in 1976, it was nominated for the World Fantasy Best Novel award. Stephen King even said himself in an interview with Playboy in 1983 that it was his favorite. (In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2014, though, his answer changed to Lisey’s Story.) It also regularly breaches the top five in lists of King’s best works, and has over 80,000 five star reviews on the book review site Goodreads.com.

This is more than just a horror novel about vampires. It’s a time capsule of classic Americana, at least before the vampires overrun the town, and an example of a book which is nearly perfect on all the cylinders of plot, characterization, and description. It’s an example of some of the best that writing can be and a book that anyone with any interest at all in horror or vampires should read.

If you disagree, I hope little Danny Glick comes tapping on your window in the dark of night. He’ll be able to convince you far better than I.

Featured image courtesy of halfmanhalfmovie.com

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Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

Published

11 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN IS NOW IN PRODUCTION 🩸 Welcome to Shadyside High. We're gonna have a killer time. pic.twitter.com/jDl0zRa2CH
— Netflix (@netflix) April 30, 2024

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

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News

Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

Published

12 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

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News

BET Releasing New Original Thriller: The Deadly Getaway

Published

12 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Cameron McFarland

BET will soon be offering horror fans a rare treat. The studio has announced the official release date for their new original thriller, The Deadly Getaway. Directed by Charles Long (The Trophy Wife), this thriller sets up a heart racing game of cat and mouse for audiences to sink their teeth into.

Wanting to break up the monotony of their routine, Hope and Jacob set off to spend their vacation at a simple cabin in the woods. However, things go sideways when Hope’s ex-boyfriend shows up with a new girl at the same campsite. Things soon spiral out of control. Hope and Jacob must now work together to escape the woods with their lives.

The Deadly Getaway is written by Eric Dickens (Makeup X Breakup) and Chad Quinn (Reflections of US). The Film stars, Yandy Smith-Harris (Two Days in Harlem), Jason Weaver (The Jacksons: An American Dream), and Jeff Logan (My Valentine Wedding).

Showrunner Tressa Azarel Smallwood had the following to say about the project. “The Deadly Getaway is the perfect reintroduction to classic thrillers, which encompass dramatic twists, and spine-chilling moments. It showcases the range and diversity of emerging Black writers across genres of film and television.”

The Deadly Getaway will premiere on 5.9.2024, exclusively ion BET+.