First viewed : 7 September 1981
This was the first adaptation of one of Stephen King's novels for television and the best.
In his most significant role post- Starsky and Hutch, David Soul plays Ben Mears, a successful writer returning to his home town with its "haunted" mansion the Marsten House. He finds it's just been bought by a suavely sinister antique dealer Mr Straker ( James Mason ) and his unseen partner Mr Barlow. Soon after their arrival, a child disappears and a spate of mysterious deaths or disappearances begins. Mears gradually comes to realise that a vampire is at work.
The two-part series was directed by Tobe Hooper of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame . Constrained by the TV veto on anything too gory, Hooper nevertheless delivers a number of potent shocks with atmosphere, imaginative make-up and great acting. The greatest scene is where the first child victim returns to claim his brother by calling at his bedroom window. The sight of the cadaverous boy in his pyjamas emerging out of the mist and clawing at the panes is absolutely terrifying . Two of my friends played a trick on their little brother ( who shouldn't have been watching it of course ) by going outside and tapping on the window once he'd gone to bed.
Mason was absolutely superb as the vampires' mortal watch-dog personifying urbane evil. There were also great performances from Geoffrey Lewis as the gravedigger, Bonnie Bedelia as Ben's love interest and Kenneth McMillan as the police chief. The one character I wasn't so keen on was Mark Petrie ( Lance Kerwin ) a younger counterpart to Soul's character but as he's a typical Stephen King boy-hero you have to accept he goes with the territory.
The story is also notable for having no real conclusion. Ben and Mark manage to kill Straker, then find and destroy Barlow in the nick of time but can't eradicate the nest. As the ending makes clear they are going to be on the run for the rest of their lives trying to stay one step ahead of the vengeful vampires.
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