Review of A Return to Salem's Lot (1987) by Justin A — 08 May 2015

I was never a huge fan of the original TV movie and I never read Stephen King's novel, so I had no real expectations with this movie. I saw it as a child and remember liking it, and I can see why. Plenty of monsters and cheesy rubber masks. The pacing is better than the first, but it's different circumstances so you can't really compare the two. It's probably better going into this movie looking at it as just a random vampire movie than as a sequel or a Stephen King adaptation. It really has nothing to do with the novel or TV movie.

It's a bit disappointing as a Larry Cohen movie. He and Michael Moriarty had already worked together on The Stuff and Q: The Winged Serpent, and this movie fails to be as memorable or entertaining as those two movies. Michael Moriarty does a commendable job, but it seemed like most of the filmmakers treated this as just a quick payday. Every scene seems rushed like they only did one take and just moved on, and every shot is boring and uninspired.

Still, as a cheesy vampire movie it's not bad. The soundtrack is pretty good and it can be a lot of fun, especially in the last half hour or so. It is a great watch in a double feature with another vampire movie with some friends. Just don't expect much.