Review: SALEM'S LOT (1995 BBC RADIO DRAMA) *** and 1\2 OUT OF *****

The BBC's attempt at dramatizing Stephen King's classic vampire novel Salem's Lot for radio, is a flawed but enjoyable affair. The actors playing Ben Mears and Mark Petrie are terribly miscast, delivering forgettable, monotonous performances, but the rest of the cast shines, especially Doug Bradley as the vampire master Barlow.

Writer Gregory Evans, who adapted the book for radio, pares the story down to its bare essentials, leaching it of almost all subtext, and so turning it into a simple horror story, but one that is compelling and occasionally thrilling, and which is marred only by uneven pacing. What makes the radio drama work, though, is its atmosphere, helped tremendously by the minimalist electronic score, and the clever intermingling of King's book with elements from Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Fans of King's work, the original novel, or the seminal 1979 TV adaptation, will surely find a lot to enjoy. Recommended.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer