Here he plays Richard Straker, the dignified but shady antiques dealer who just bought the Marsten house in the hopes of opening an antiques shop with his elusive companion, Kurt Barlow. On the other hand James Mason-who by 1979 had already played everyone from Captain Nemo, to Joseph of Arimathea-was perfectly cast. Another actor could have done more with the role, but Soul’s performance is more straightforward than incapable. He’s a perfectly capable, totally forgettable good guy. Perhaps the most improbable aspect of this production is its star, David Soul-the erstwhile “Hutch.” As Ben Mears, a horror author who’s returned to his sleepy Maine hometown to write about a creepy local mansion called the Marsten house, Soul delivers an earnest, no-frills performance. But even from within constraints, Hooper brings not only the plot of Stephen King’s work to screen, but also the demons that make it so haunting in the first place.
The miniseries is downright tame next to the director’s other work-an acquiescence to the broadcast television conventions of the time.
Tobe Hooper might be best known for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist, but his 1979 Salem’s Lot adaptation deserves a greater share of his legacy. It’s a mystery that will haunt me until the end of my days: How did a CBS miniseries starring the guy who’d just wrapped up playing Hutch of Starsky & Hutch turn out so goddamn traumatizing?
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