This long-shelved new adaptation of the Stephen King classic fails to impress with an overabundance of CGI and silly jump scares.
PLOT: 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.
REVIEW: I need to get it right out of the way that I’m not the biggest fan of the original 1979 Tobe Hooper version of Salem’s Lot. The story is interesting but I find it to be a 3-hour slog with about 15 minutes of cool moments. So I was ecstatic to see it finally get the remake treatment. Or rather, I was glad to see the book adapted another time, to try and get it right (they tried again in 2004 with another so-so miniseries). This would have been the first big-screen adaptation of the novel, but it was delayed for years, with Warner Bros eventually cancelling its theatrical release in favour of streaming release on Max.
For those who have never read the book or seen either prior adaptation, Salem’s Lot follows Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) as he returns to his hometown. Hoping to find inspiration for his next book, he finds his arrival coincides with that of a dark force descending upon the town: an ancient vampire intent on taking over Jerusalem’s Lot. As more and more townsfolk are converted, it becomes a ticking time bomb. But Ben’s isn’t the only story we follow, as we get an IT-like juvenile plotline with Jordan Preston Carter’s Mark Petrie. Mark has a wisdom beyond his years quality to him, and he’s solid in the role even if the character does often feel like he’s maybe a little too in control of situations for his age (hence the similarities to IT – with the director Gary Dauberman having famously written that two-part film).
After a stellar performance earlier this year in Skincare, Pullman continues to be great in whatever he does and he anchors the movie. His romance with Makenzie Leigh‘s Susan hits the right level of smitten. I was very excited to see Bill Camp get such a featured role as he’s always been so underrated. The other acting is a little stiff throughout, with some stilted performances amongst some people having fun with it. Young Nicholas Crovetti seemed to relish getting to play a bad guy and it was entertaining. King-regular, William Sadler appears as a police officer but it’s a pretty unrewarding role. Alfre Woodard feels more like she’s checking off a box versus contributing to the narrative.
Some of the scares have potential, with some really cool buildup moments but nearly every single one ends on a lame jump scare. And it’s one of those jump scares where the scene just immediately ends. Which means there’s no satisfying payoff to any of these tense moments. It sucks because I was really enjoying the simplicity of the story. The CGI can be a bit distracting, with enhancements on nearly all of the horror elements. Then there’s Kurt Barlow, the head vampire, whose appearance looks like a Halloween mask of the classic Nosferatu-like being. He’s often overlit and the cinematography highlights the very rubbery-looking mask. It’s a big disappointment.
And while there’s potential with the romance between Susan and Ben, it ultimately falls flat in the end. As soon as it starts to blossom, the film switches gears and becomes IT switching over to the B-plot. Every character feels shortchanged and there’s not a good balance in the shuffling of all the storylines. There’s just not enough time to dig into any dramatic elements, proving that maybe a miniseries really is the only way to tackle the material. The changes don’t necessarily ruin the film (the Drive-In Movie Theater sequence was great) but the execution feels sloppy and uninspired.
Ultimately I was really disappointed with Salem’s Lot. There’s clearly a reason that this movie was shelved for years. I was hoping they’d finally be able to crack the code when it comes to adapting this novel. But it still just hasn’t happened, and at this point, I’m afraid it never will. Apparently, a simple story about a vampire taking over a small town is just too much for a feature film. Guess we’ll try again in another twenty years.
SALEM’S LOT IS EXCLUSIVELY PLAYING ON MAX STARTING ON OCTOBER 3RD, 2024.
