From Jeremy Kibler

If there’s one author whose work always gets multiple iterations—no matter the small or big screen—it’s Stephen King. After Tobe Hooper’s effective 1979 two-part miniseries, as well as a 2004 miniseries that starred Rob Lowe and aired on TNT, King’s 1975 novel Salem’s Lot has been adapted once more, this time by writer-director Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home). What Dauberman was able to do with both It: Chapter One and even It: Chapter Two is much more truncated here, missing the soul and poignancy of character relationships but certainly not lacking some of the bite. Salem’s Lot may leave one wanting more, but as an autumnal vessel for cozily frightful atmosphere, it fits the bill.

As the story goes, writer Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) returns to his Maine hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot—Salem’s Lot/The Lot for short—to get inspiration for his next novel. Shortly before arriving, antique shop owner Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward) and his assistant, Richard Straker (Pilou Asbæk), have moved into the old Morsten house on the hill. Staker is actually a Renfield-like familiar, hiding out a nasty, Nosferatu-looking vamp, who would be Barlow. That might be why the mortality rate just keeps rising, and it’s up to not only Ben but his love interest, real-estate assistant Susan (Makenzie Leigh); math teacher Mathew Burke (Bill Camp); heroic new kid in school Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter); and Dr. Cody (Alfre Woodard) to stop the town takeover. 

Salem’s Lot can’t help but feel like an amalgam of Stephen King’s oeuvre, including Needful Things with an antique dealer bringing a dark force to a sleepy town, but in basic terms, this is “Dracula in Maine.” Where this third adaptation excels is when it’s being a vampire film in which no one is particularly safe and the sight of glowing crosses is surprisingly not that hokey. It can be duly creepy and viciously mean, and while the film as a whole never works up a head of tension, a few set-pieces are muscular enough in their craft to stand out. A dusk-set stalking scene with the Glick brothers (Nicholas Crovetti, Cade Woodward) is strikingly shot and chillingly executed in silhouette. Dauberman also subverts expectations a little when it comes to deviating from the 1979 miniseries; while nothing can quite imitate that miniseries’ unnerving image of a young boy luring his brother out of a slumber to the window, there is some spooky business involving a seesaw. There are also individual moments of panache here and there, including a cheeky transition from the opening of a Bible to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

When a film that was previously made as a miniseries can efficiently breeze through a great deal of characters and feel like enough breathing room has been devoted to each (or most of them), it’s a success. This new Salem’s Lot doesn’t really manage that feat. If it feels like the film is taking its time to develop so many characters (Alfre Woodard’s Dr. Cody doesn’t show up until 37 minutes in), the second half takes a one-week-later jump, advancing everything, feeling too stripped-down, and flattening the emotional weight. A gravedigger is quickly introduced as a drunk, only to become a victim. Before we know it, disparate characters are banding together and ready to take down Barlow and Straker in an admittedly fun showdown at a drive-in.

None of the performers are at fault, but not many of them get much to sink their teeth into to be afforded more meaningful character arcs. Pullman and a bob-sporting Makenzie Leigh have a sweet way about them as Ben and Susan, but their romance has seemed to evolved off-screen so much that very little seems to be at stake. Out of the entire cast, Jordan Preston Carter and Bill Camp (the Tom Atkins of the film) make the most impression with their respective parts, Mark Petrie and Mathew Burke. Even as the big bad Barlow, Alexander Ward, looking menacing enough in his make-up, lacks the presence of the 1979 version’s Reggie Nalder.

It’s clear here that there was a more sprawling vision that got gutted, so those with a deeper connection to the source material will have their nits to pick. As a film, it’s solidly economical but still more noticeably rushed than it needs to be. Enough good pieces make Salem’s Lot worth a look, making it all the more disappointing that Warner Bros. forced the film into being a slick, abridged shrieker with plenty of surface blood and less heart and soul. 

Rating: 3/5

Salem’s Lot is available to stream on Max on October 3rd, 2024.

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