rtsl be one of those film that have all the stinky rating at imdb and tepid to scathing review at the few place that even bother to review it . hell and it not even available on dvd and that in a world where peter jackson pick his nose probably get a 3 disc with booger collectible treatment . but this little obscurity imo deserve a lot well . ok and the title can be misleading and since apart from the setting of the town this one have little relationship with stephen king novel salem lot or tobe hooper film version of it . like most of larry cohen shoot on the run venture it doesn not have spank production value and the fx have to be take with a voluntary suspension of disbelief . and with some wild swerve between grip emotional drama and obvious camp it certainly can not be describe a have a very consistent tone . but unlike most modern day epic film where every sparse scene and nuance be stretch out like a taffy competition and this film be pack with so many cool concept and dramatic idea it can barely contain them . the story have a scoop seek anthropologist joe weber ( larry cohen regular michael moriarty in another please turn ) go off with his problem son whom he have not see in year to an inherit house in a quiet ancestral town where they can sort their issue . and yes and that place be salem lot . in cohen version and the town have be entirely take over by vampire and who constitute a society unto themselves and use human only a servant . they be intrigue by the anthropologist and want him to write a chronicle and nay bible and of vampire civilization . in turn joe son be intrigue by the vampire and not sure if he doesn not want to become one himself . cohen pacy script present his quirky and subtly humorous take on a vampire society with it peculiar lifestyle and it own attitude towards the human race . he also present the grip dilemma that joe face and force to stay and write for his son safety and at the same time seduce by the prospect of write a unique chronicle . and by an ex girlfriend who have never age after he leave . thus far be a film that plainly brilliant in it setup and i would have love to see a great progression in this vein . but after that larry script seem to have run out of idea or time and he quickly revert to a showdown where joe team up with a crusty old vampire slayer who just happen to have blow into the town . there occur that same abrupt change of tone that happen in john carpenter they live which and begin a this quietly unsettling sf thriller and suddenly veer off into high camp territory with the scene where roddy piper decide it time to kick as and chew bubblegum . to it credit and rtsl go for much long before the camping ground be lay and and even after that and retain a good modicum of interest . thus while not entirely streamline or satisfy and rtls be a film with several point of interest and imo one that deserve a good appreciation than it have thus far receive .