(pb; 1897)
Review:
Told through a series of various characters' journals, notes and cables, this nineteenth-century, milestone novel of vampirism, slow-burn horror, desire and other emotions is an enthralling, descriptive work, one that deservedly has been acknowledged as the blueprint for most vampire-themed art and writing. Stoker crafted the perfect bloodsucker book when he wrote this (I rarely use the word "perfect" to describe any writing); for this reason, this is one of my all-time favorite reads.
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Dracula has inspired so many other works, visual, literary, aural and cinematic, I will not even attempt to show the creative strands stemming from it.
(pb; 1975)
From the back cover:
"The town knew darkness. . . but no one dared talk about the high, sweet, evil laughter of a child. . . and the sucking sounds. . ."
Review:
'Salem's Lot is an excellent, hard-to-put-down 'Old School' (if sometimes chatty) horror novel that effectively channels the slow-build, multilayered dread and gut-wrenching terror of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula and late Sixties/early Seventies Hammer films, which are obvious (and stated) influences on Lot. The characters are interesting and relatable, with their interlocking small-town histories and reactions to Straker and Barlow's insidious takeover of their town and its surrounding area.
Great read, this - worth owning.
Side-note: two of King's stories ("Jerusalem's Lot" and "One for the Road") from his anthology Night Shift are loosely linked to this novel.
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This novel spawned two television films and one cinematic sequel.
The first television film, which aired stateside on November 17, 1979, was directed by Tobe Hooper. Paul Monash wrote the teleplay.
David Soul played Ben Mears. Lance Kerwin played Mark Petrie. James Mason played Richard K. Straker. An uncredited Reggie Nalder played Kurt Barlow.
Bonnie Bedelia played Susan Norton. Geoffrey Lewis played Mike Ryerson. Lew Ayres played Jason Burke. Elisha Cook Jr., billed as Elisha Cook, played Gordon "Weasel" Phillips. George Dzunda played Cully Sawyer. Kenneth McMillan played Constable Parkins Gillespie. Fred Willard played Larry Crockett.
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Larry Cohen directed and co-scripted its theatrical sequel, A Return to 'Salem's Lot, released stateside in May 1987. James Dixon, who played Rains, was Cohen's writing partner.
Michael Moriarty played Joe Weber. Ricky Addison Reed played Jeremy Weber. Samuel Fuller played Van Meer. Andrew Duggan played Judge Axel. Evelyn Keyes played Mrs. Axel. Tara Reid played Amanda. June Havoc played Aunt Clara. Ronee Blakley played Sally.
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The second television film, based on the original novel, aired stateside on June 20, 2004. It was directed by Mikael Salomon. Peter Filardi wrote the teleplay.
Rob Lowe played Ben Mears. Dan Byrd, billed as Daniel Byrd, played Mark Petrie. Donald Sutherland played Richard Straker. Rutger Hauer played Kurt Barlow. Samantha Mathis played Susan Norton. Andre Braugher played Matt Burke. James Cromwell played Father Donald Callahan. Christopher Morris played Mike Ryerson. Robert Grubb played Larry Crockett.
(hb; 2009: Book One of The Strain trilogy)
From the inside flap:
"A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.
"In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing. . .
"So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save the city - a city that includes his wife and son - before it is too late."
Review:
Good supernatural apocalypse novel with worthwhile characters and plenty of gore and action. Strain reads like a mix of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Michael Crichton's medical thrillers, del Toro's 2002 film Blade II and Stephen King's better-edited works. Check it out.
Followed by The Fall.
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The resulting television series is scheduled to air sometime in 2014 on the FX network.
Corey Stoll plays Dr. Ephraim Goodweather. Mia Maestro plays Nora Martinez. John Hurt plays Professor Abraham Setrakian. Kevin Durand plays Vasiliy Fet. Miguel Gomez plays Augustin 'Gus' Elizalde.
Jonathan Hyde plays Eldritch Palmer. Natalie Brown plays Kelly Goodweather. Ben Hyland plays Zack Goodweather. Sean Astin plays Jim Kent. Robert Maillet plays The Master.
Leslie Hope plays Joan Luss. Doug Jones has an unnamed (at least thus far) role. Jack Kesy plays Gabriel Bolivar. Jonathan Potts plays Capt. Redfern. Nicholai Witschl plays Ansel Barbour.
(hb; 1993: vampire story anthology. Forward by Peter Cushing OBE.)
From the inside flap
"Few mythological creatures can have fascinated writers so much as the vampire: dark legends have been passed down from generation to generation of these undead beings, possessed of supernatural powers of metamorphosis and hypnotism, stalking the night for the blood of the living. Ever since Bram Stoker's novel Dracula projected the vampire into the public's consciousness, vampire stories have had an uncanny hold over readers.
"Loathsome, yet charged with decadent glamour, it is small wonder that the vampire has been a popular and recurring theme of horror fiction, and has inspired some of the finest writing in the genre.
"In this volume are gathered tales that may keep the reader awake long after midnight; a multitude of variations and unexpected twists of the theme which make few concessions to those of a squeamish nature. Included are works by such renowned writers as John Wyndham, Anne Rice, Robert Bloch and the undisputed master of the vampire tale, Bram Stoker, plus an introductory word from a man who has, over his acting career, staked numerous Princes of Darkness -- Peter Cushing."
Overall review
Eighteen-tale, solid anthology that's worth checking out. Peter Cushing's literate, warm and wise Foreword adds futher charm to this collection.
Standout stories
1.) "Dracula's Guest" - Bram Stoker: A fool-hardy Englishman with a strange benefactor visits a haunted village on Walpurgis Nacht. Spooky, atmospheric, brisk-paced, this. (This originally was an excised chapter from Stoker's novel, Dracula.)
This story resulted in two films.
The first, Walpurgis Nacht, a seven-minute short directed by David Kruschke, was released in 2004.
Michael Glover Smith (billed as Michael Smith) played Jonathan. Jerry Blackburn played Johann. Charity Grella played "Countess". James Hurwitz played "Innkeeper". Mark Johnson played "The Host" / "The Captain".
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The second film version, Dracula's Guest, was released stateside as a direct-to-DVD film in August 2008.
Wes Ramsey played Bram Stoker. Amy Lyndon played Mrs. Witham. Andrew Bryniarski played Count Dracula. Kelsey McCann played Elizabeth.
Michael Feifer scripted and directed the film, which re-imagined the story in a slow-paced, different way.
2.) "The Lovely Lady" - D.H. Lawrence: Pauline Attenborough, an outwardly youthful, secretly poisonous old woman, preys on the insecurities of her son (Robert) and her niece (Cecilia).
Theme-rich, classic (in a good way), character-centric tale, with a Pauline-true finish.
3.) "The Author's Tale" - L.A. Lewis: A fireside-chat takes a gripping turn when the Author tells a tale about an otherwise gentle man plotting torturous revenge on his crafty, vicious ex-wife.
Spooky, unsettling work that's equal parts Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker.
4.) "Close Behind Him" - John Wyndham: Two men (Spotty and Smudger) pick the wrong house to burgle. Strange, psychologically-taut story.
5.) "Vampires Ltd" - Josef Nesvadba: Tight, satirical and original story about an amazing vehicle and the darker side of the human drive.
6.) "The Master of Rampling Gate" - Anne Rice: Two adult siblings (Julie and Richard) return to their mysterious family estate, one they haven't seen in almost two decades. Romantic, Gothic, this story plays to Rice's popular, passionate strengths.
7.) "Quiet is the Night" - Jessica Palmer: A girl kills her emotionally abusive father, only to discover a darker fate. Sad, suitably Gothic, spooky -- this possesses a fresh authorial voice; I look forward to reading other works by this author.
8.) "The Last Sin" - Ken Cowley: Lord Ruthven, an immoral wealthy man, gets his bloody comeuppance in this lean, script-flipping morality tale (and update of Dr. John Polidori's famous character).
Solid stories
"Phantoms" - Ivan Turgenov; "The Haunted House" - E. Nesbit; "An Episode of Cathedral History" - M.R. James; " 'And No Bird Sings'" - E.F. Benson; "Chastel" - Manly Wade Wellman; "The Apples of Sodom" - David Rowlands; "The Undead" - Robert Bloch; "China Rose" - Ron Weighell; "Saint Sebastian and the Mona Lisa" - A.E. Kidd
