There is no word on a new movie adaptation. Stephen Kingof Salem’s Lot It feels especially fresh and innovative — except Nothing but a proper, old-fashioned haunted house.That’s great news for horror fans, but it may also explain why Warner Bros. held off on this film for two full years before finally deciding to release it straight to Max (after its premiere at Beyond Fest.) It’s by no means an exceptional piece of work, but it’s solid and workmanlike. Salem’s Lot It didn’t seem like a sure bet for cinemas. And it suggests that it might actually be OK for some movies to move directly to streaming.
After all, it seems like the TV adaptation of King’s chunky second novel is thriving. Salem’s Lot (and I sometimes try not to put an apostrophe in front of that first letter) was first adapted as a much-loved television miniseries in 1979 by director Tobe Hooper It was edited down to film length for overseas markets. A sequel was released in theaters in 1987, but it didn’t have the same staying power and deviated from King’s story. The original was later adapted into a miniseries, starring Rob Lowe It was broadcast on TNT in 2004. That means in 2024 Salem’s Lotscriptwriter and director IT: Chapter 1 and two Scribe Gary DaubermanWhile you may not have had many opportunities to see it in theaters, it was technically the first film adaptation of a King novel. Dauberman stripped the story down to its bare bones.it sticks to the main beats of the book while simplifying most of the character storylines, and also creates a new ending that fits the story well. And I think King himself would be perfectly fine with that.
What kind of movie is “Salem’s Lot”?
in Salem’s Lotnovelist Ben Mears (Top Gun: Maverickof Lewis Pullman) is one of King’s characters, and he is also a writer, who returns to Jerusalem’s Lot, the small town in Maine where he grew up. His exact motivations for returning are a bit murky, but it’s clear that he is trying to resolve a childhood trauma, as his parents died in a car accident when he was nine. He is trying to find love for Susan (Mackenzie Lee) stars the protagonist, an aspiring real estate agent who befriends an aging teacher played by Matthew, one of the best character actors working today. Bill Camppreviously starred in HBO’s remake of King’s novel. OutsiderHe also becomes interested in Martenhouse, the town’s spooky mansion, which is home to two new residents: the mysterious and unseen Barlow.Alexander Ward) and the fearsome Straker (game of thrones‘ Pilou AsbaekMr. ( ) opened an antique shop in town.
Meanwhile, 11-year-old Mark (Jordan Preston Carter) is a kid new to town who builds model monsters at home, but loses two friends to a mysterious blood disease that seems to be spreading throughout the lot, which soon becomes clear to be more of a curse than a disease. A vampire, to be exact. — And Mark teams up with Ben, Susan, Matthew, and the local doctor (Alfre Woodard), and the local priest (John Benjamin Hickey In the future The Dark Tower Father Callahan, a member of Ca’ Tet, joins them in an attempt to save their town from a group of vampires led by the pale and terrifying Barlow.
There’s a lot going on in this story, as King tells the story from a bird’s-eye view of a fictional town, and while a TV miniseries could have contained most of it, a film under two hours has to be selective about the fights.. Dauberman decided to keep all the major characters from the book, but at the cost of All the characters end up feeling like the most shallow versions of themselves.whose characterizations are only touched on briefly (if at all) — there’s not enough time to delve deeply into Ben’s writer’s slump, Father Callahan’s crisis of faith, Mark’s horror fandom, or any of the other details of the source material. As a result, Pullman doesn’t have much to work with, The audience is left without a strong central character to root for. That said, the film features a talented cast of actors who all do their best in the roles they are given, and while the characters are sketchy, they are well-acted nonetheless.
“Salem’s Lot” is the perfect movie for Halloween
Dauberman is unable to delve too deeply into the characters. Not too flashy, but a beautiful piece with a classic and stylish feel.Setting the story in the 1970s was a good choice, and the biggest new addition to this film is the drive-in theater, which plays a key role in the film. Dauberman has written many films in the Conjuring universe, and this is his directorial debut. annabelle is backdisplays keen visual acumen and sprinkles some really clever scene transitions throughout the film. This movie’s vampires look is exactly what you’d hoped forThe way they float, land on rooftops, and glow eerily with their creepy glowing eyes is extremely creepy. The big question going into this film was what Barlow would look like, as the 1979 version deviated significantly from his portrayal in the novel, and Dauberman was right to update the iconic look rather than revert to the more human villain of King’s original.
There are a few other details push Salem’s Lot Overcome the obstacles and make it perfect for the spooky seasonI love that whenever the crucifix is used as a weapon it glows a bright white and sends the vampire flying backwards as if he’d been hit by a shotgun. Salem’s Lot King’s novels have always been about small-town American death, and the tropes are well within this version. No one would argue that this is the best version of the story, and the film’s earnest vampire tropes, like crucifixes and holy water, are so antiquated (see what I mean?) that they definitely risk feeling hackneyed. (Since King’s novel was published, the vampire mythology has been deconstructed, reconstructed, adapted for young adults, and everything in between.) Still, I think Dauberman’s film is good enough that it will find an audience that enjoys an overly traditional take on vampire lore, and it will also win over King fans who have bought into all incarnations of the story since day one.
Salem’s Lot Available on Max from October 3rd.
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