Salem’s Lot (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.

My Take – Indeed, the record-breaking success of It (2017) has led to a welcome plethora of Stephen King adaptations, hitting both the big and small screens. However, the results have been mostly a mix of sub-par reworks of classics, and an unnecessary stream of little-known short stories, with only a few bright spot in-between.

Unfortunately, this new take on his 1975 novel, the third adaptation after two miniseries attempts, is no different.

Though not quite the ungainly disaster that it’s cursed journey to Max suggested. Which saw the film being announced in 2019, shot in 2021, moved off a 2022 theatrical release, moved again from a 2023 slot and then finally downgraded to the streaming service release.

Simply told, the Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home) directorial works well enough as an old fashioned vampire horror that is handsomely crafted and impressive on a technical level with a strong ensemble, atmosphere and setting.

Yet, told in just 113 minutes rather than spread across multiple episodes, the film feels rushed, failing to flesh out the storyline and the characters.

Unsurprising, as the original cut was supposed to be nearly three hours and featured a pivotal opening scene from the 439 pages long book that would’ve fleshed out the town and Lewis Pullman‘s Ben Mears. Making it one of the most aggravating Stephen King adaptations in recent memory.

Set in 1975, the story follows Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman), a not so successful author who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, two decades after leaving following his parent’s accident. Despite hoping to find inspiration and spend some quite time to finish his next book, Ben finds himself quickly distracted by both a burgeoning relationship with local real estate student Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh) and the disappearance and eventual death of a local boy, Ralph Glick (Cade Woodward).

And when he is convinced by local English teacher Matt Burke (Bill Camp), that the strange circumstances and disappearances seem to coincide with the arrival of antiques salesman Richard Straker (Pilou Asbæk) and his mysterious associate, Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward), who even bought the haunted Marsten house, Ben bands with Susan, the open-minded Dr. Cody (Alfre Woodard), the alcoholic Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey) and new-to-town teen horror buff Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter), to save what’s left and take down the source.

While the premise is simple enough, it is greatly heightened by the tension lurking in the corners. Based on his experience The Conjuring series and It films, director Gary Dauberman is able to recreate simmering terror from the book.

For example, when the brothers Ralph and Danny Glick walk home together in the woods at dusk it indulges in one of the film’s more arresting visuals. Even a morgue scramble with a homemade cross and a drive-in film light trick are particularly excellent.

Though he’s never able to capture the slow, escalating dread that a story such as this demands, owing to its runtime, director Dauberman tries his best to sell the story while staying faithful to the source material. But as the film rushes towards confronting the third act, the sense of style and substance that he achieved in act one vanishes.

Mainly because none of it resonates because there’s never all that much time taken to flesh out who these people are, or what their histories with the Lot are, and it makes their ruminations feel inauthentic.

King‘s strength has always been his focus on the human element-the characters, and how their relationships inform the narrative and provide an emotional core to his stories. Here, none of that exists. It leaves the neighbors who are getting vamped feeling nondescript and interchangeable, and that really comes across in how bland the repeated vampire kills become by the end.

Sure, the film is careful to touch on nearly every major scene from the novel, and to include every character it can, but there’s just not enough time to cover everything. Proving the story was certainly better suited to a miniseries than a film unless you’re willing to make the film long enough. There’s real streamlining going on here, but it doesn’t make the story tighter. It makes it less interesting.

Personally, I really liked Barlow’s look, which was obviously inspired by freaky the 1979 appearance. I also liked the rest of the vampires with their glowing orange eyes and ravenous hunger being given terrific practical make-up and effects that make them a terrifying presence that can come out of nowhere in the dark of the night.

Performances wise, Lewis Pullman continues to be great in whatever he does and anchors the film. Alfre Woodard delivers a performance that’s a cut above the rest. Jordan Preston Carter brings a star making turn. Makenzie Leigh, John Benjamin Hickey and Bill Camp do their best with the material.

Pilou Asbæk seems to have a talent for playing psychopaths on screen and here it is no different as he goes all in when he needs to but manages to also be reserved yet still creepy when the scene requires it. King-regular, William Sadler appears as a police officer but it’s a pretty unrewarding role.

In other roles, Nicholas Crovetti, Cadeb Woodward, Debra Christofferson, John Benjamin Hickey and Spencer Treat Clark get the job done. On the whole, ‘Salem’s Lot’ is an average old-fashioned vampire story that is unable to realize its full potential.