Salem's Lot Review: No Life in this Undead Tale

Streaming Movie Review - Horror - HBO/Max

Key Art for Salem’s Lot. Photograph by Courtesy of New Line Cinema/Max

I have read a lot of Stephen King, but Salem’s Lot is one of the few books I haven’t read. But even so, I can say that the Gary Dauberman film of the same name, releasing on Max on October 3, is not a good adaptation. I can’t speak to how faithful it is to the original, but I can confidently say that this vampire film is not a good adaptation.

Author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman, Lessons in Chemistry) is returning to his childhood home, Jerusalem’s Lot, hoping to find inspiration for his next novel. At the same time that he arrives in town, another newcomer, Richard Straker (Pilou Asbæk, I.S.S.), arrives and sets up a new shop, though he brings something more sinister with him. 

Strange things begin happening in Salem’s Lot when Ralph Glick (Cade Woodward, A Quiet Place) goes missing. Soon after, his brother Danny (Nicholas Crovetti, Big Little Lies) also dies under mysterious circumstances. Matthew Burke (Bill Camp, Drive Away Dolls), the town doctor Cody (Alfre Woodard, Summer Camp), and Danny’s best friend Mark (Jordan Preston Carter, Kindred) join Ben and his new love interest Susan (Makenzie Leigh, The Assistant) to figure out what is happening in their town and how to make things right again.

Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Makenzie Leigh, Lewis Pullman, and Jordan Preston Carter. Photograph by Courtesy of New Line Cinema/Max

Watching Salem’s Lot was a frustrating exercise because it is too self-serious to be a goofy, fun watch and too silly to be scary. Instead, it falls into this middling place of being hokey and unscary. What is frustrating about that is that it’s unclear what Dauberman was going for with this. He co-wrote the pair of It movies as well as some of the films in the Conjuring universe, so he has some experience in the horror genre, but this missed on every level.

The performances in this are all incredibly wooden. Several of these actors have appeared in films that showcase their abilities, so it’s not a matter of talent but instead of a dearth of an adequate script or a failure in the direction. Probably a little of both. There is little to no time given to character development, so everyone is just fodder for the vampires rather than characters that we care about.

Jordan Preston Carter, Bill Camp. Photograph by Courtesy of New Line Cinema/Max

This film was also a difficult watch due to a number of technical issues. The sound mix is uneven, with the soundtrack mixed so high that it distorts and the dialogue mixed so low that it can be a struggle to hear. The lighting gives the movie a kind of washed-out, movie-of-the-week visual that is off-putting. The effects all look cheap and tacky. The jump scares are telegraphed and then cut away from, so there’s no emotional payoff for the fright. 

Salem’s Lot wrapped its filming in 2021 and then sat for three years waiting for a release. Even Stephen King himself weighed in, saying that it should be released. And while I am always glad when a movie gets released, rather than shelved forever like Coyote vs. Acme and Batgirl, also from Warner Bros., those who have been waiting for this movie may regret the energy spent pining for its release.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on September 28, 2024.