Monstervision 100% Weird presents
A Return to Salem's Lot
(1988)
Weekly World MonsterVision . . . Week of 9-18-98
The Republican Undead
An unofficial sequel to Salem's Lot, Stephen King's epic vampire tale, A Return to Salem's Lot is one of Larry Cohen's more bizarre B-movie efforts. You all know crazy Larry from such schlock masterpieces as It's Alive and Q: The Winged Serpent and once again he has cast one of his favorite actors, Michael Moriarty, of Troll in the lead. Moriarty plays an anthropologist who relocates to a small New England town with his bratty son (Ricky Addison Reed). Once there, he is asked by the locals to write the town history and soon discovers that almost everyone in the town is a vampire. These aren't your usual garden variety vampires either. They're flag-waving conservatives who are opposed to alcohol and cigarettes and welfare and only drink blood on special occasions. One of the highlights of the film is the late director Samuel Fuller who plays a former Nazi hunter turned vampire killer. The supporting cast includes Andrew Duggan as the head of the bloodsuckers with June Havoc, Evelyn Keyes, and Ronee Blakely as active coven members.
A Return to Salem's Lot (1988)
Friday, September 18, 1998 on TNT, Rating: TV-14 for language & violence
"Salem's Lot" / "A Return to Salem's Lot" availability on video and on DVD from Amazon.com
The Student Bodies (1981)
Made when the teenage slasher films were at their height, this slapstick parody features a maniac who displays his victims with paper clips, plastic trash bags, and an eggplant. The cast includes Kristen Riter, Matthew Goldsby, and Richard Brando and the film is written and directed by Mickey Rose who co-wrote two of Woody Allen's first films, WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY? and TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN. Yes, that's producer/director Michael Ritchie hiding behind the pseudonym Allen Smithee.
The Student Bodies (1981)
Friday, September 18 at 12:00 am ET/PT, Rating: TV-14-DV
* Technically, this is really early Saturday morning, but don't tell Joe Bob.
Trespass (1992)
RIGHT PLACE, WRONG TIME
Two Arkansas firemen decide to investigate a rumor about a buried treasure in an abandoned slum dwelling. What they didn't bother to find out was that the building is used as the headquarters for a notorious gang of drug dealers. The situation turns deadly when they become inadvertent bystanders to a gangster-style execution and the gang leader decides to silence the witnesses. Bill Paxton and William Sadler are the unlucky treasure hunters and Ice T and Ice Cube are their would-be killers in this cat and mouse thriller from director Walter Hill. The music score is by Ry Cooder.
Trespass (1992)
Monday, September 21 at 12:00 am ET/PT, Rating: TV-14-LV
The Long Riders (1980)
WANTED - DEAD OR ALIVE!
One of the most notorious outlaw gangs of the 19th century is the subject of The Long Riders, a stylish western directed by Walter Hill and featuring a unique casting gimmick - the historical outlaw brothers are played by actor brothers: James and Stacy Keach are Jesse and Frank James, The Carradines are the Younger brothers, The Quaids are the Miller boys, Christopher and Nicholas Guest are Charlie and Bob Ford. In the role of the tempestuous Belle Starr, Pamela Reed almost steals the film from her co-stars. Cinematography by Ric Waite. Music by Ry Cooder.
The Long Riders (1980)
Thursday, September 24 at 11:30 pm, Rating: TV-14-V
* Director George Romero (Night of the Living Dead) was originally approached to direct a feature film version, but after the announcements of John Badham's "Dracula" (1979) and Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht" (1979), Warner Bros. decided to turn Salem's Lot into a TV mini-series. Romero dropped out, feeling he wouldn't be able to make the film the way he wanted to with the restrictions of network television.
* It has been widely reported that director Larry Cohen intended the vampire community to be a parody of old-blooded Republicans who so often rule in small-town America
* Amanda is played by a then 12 year old Tara Reid (American Pie, Josie and The Pussycats)
MonsterVision 100% Weird for week of 9-18-98
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