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Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
Lock your doors and windows and be careful who you invite in; vampires are loose in the Lot! Salem’s Lot is the third adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. This time, it was brought to the screen by writer and director Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home, The Nun). Dauberman has reunited with his Conjuring-producing partner James Wan ( to bring the novel to life. Salem’s Lot follows writer Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) returning to the titular town, or the Lot as locals call it, to work on his next novel. As he returns, vampires arrive and begin to take over the Lot. While the movie lacks the nuance and depth of the novel, it offers plenty of chills and thrills for the Halloween season.
Chilling Atmosphere
If there’s one thing this movie excels in, then it’s atmosphere. This is in large part due to production designer Marc Fisichella’s set pieces. They evoke the horror films of the 1970s when Salem’s Lot is set. The lighting is the aspect that stands out the most. Night scenes are lit so audiences can actually see what’s happening. Additionally, there is a great use of lighting in many other scenes, from the brake lights of a truck creating a red ominous light in a scene to the backlighting in a kidnapping scene. It’s all gorgeous and so nice to see a horror movie with some style. Additionally, there are a lot of fun transitions and shot compositions. It elevates the movie above the usual studio horror fare.
All of this excels when the film adapts the novel’s scariest moments. The sense of dread that builds when reading is replicated on screen, and there are a few jump scares here and there. However, the film primarily relies on that sense of tension building up and then releasing in its key scenes. Most of them are in the movie’s first half, which does leave the second half feeling underbaked.
Paper Thin Exploration
Despite its faithful recreations of the novel’s most iconic and terrifying moments, the movie lacks a lot of the thematic and character depth present in the novel. This isn’t a problem unique to Salem’s Lot; many book-to-movie adaptations suffer this same fate. There isn’t enough space in two hours to cover everything. With that said, some of it could have been translated better. A few scenes showing the town and how gossip spreads would have done wonders for improving this. Instead, we get treated to a few lines about how word travels fast around town, and that people are cautious to outsiders. Unfortunately, the thematic throughline about small towns not being as quaint and welcoming as they appear is muddled in this adaptation, along with so much else.
Lack of Character
Another issue comes with the lack of character depth. The characters here are fine, but ironically paper thin. Unlike the novel where so much time is spent in the character’s heads, there’s only spoken dialogue and some actions. The dialogue isn’t bad. Much of it seems lifted straight off the pages of Salem’s Lot, but it only gives minimal insight into the characters. Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey) and Mears are perhaps the most notable examples. Callahan is the town priest struggling with his faith. Hickey does a good job physically conveying this with his tired looks and line deliveries. Although, it’s not explored significantly. It’s one of the most interesting aspects on display here. Instead, we just get a few lines of dialogue and nothing else.
The same goes for Mears. He’s come home to work on his new novel and explore his childhood trauma. In the book, this drive to explore his trauma is what drives him. The film references it but does nothing with it. There’s little to say about this version of the character. He’s just an empty vessel. It’s unfortunate because Pullman is a gifted actor and gives it his all, but the script just lets him down.
Still, all of the actors in the cast are quite good even if they get little to do. Makenzie Leigh makes Susan Norton a less stereotypical woman than in the book. Bill Camp feels pretty spot on to how schoolteacher Matthew Burke is written. Alfre Woodard is great as Dr. Cody especially as she’s the only one to attempt doing a Maine accent. Jordan Preston Carter does a good job as Mark Petrie, having to do a lot of heavy lifting in scenes by himself. It’s all just good actors pulling their weight against a weak script.
Additional Thoughts on Salem’s Lot
The largest change the movie makes to Salem’s Lot is the ending. The location is entirely different and one that’s much more made with movies in mind, however, it doesn’t quite work. It doesn’t make much logical sense, which is asking for a lot in a movie where a whole town becomes vampires, It’s fun to watch, and again, Dauberman makes it all visually appealing. The issue is it just lacks bite.
Something that sticks out as a little hokey is how the crosses glow when being used. It feels cheap and looks out of place with the rest of the film. Especially compared to the low-key look of the vampires. Speaking of vampires, the main one, Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward) has the classic look fans will expect. However, it appears to be largely noticeably computer-generated. This is a disappointing outcome considering how much more of the movie feels and looks tactile. Not to mention, again, there’s just not enough time spent with Barlow to make him anything more than a chilling image rather than a meaningful antagonist.
The Verdict on Salem’s Lot
Salem’s Lot goes above and beyond in recreating the atmosphere and iconic scenes of Stephen King’s source material but fails to provide the same thematic depth. Still, Salem’s Lot is fun to watch for vampire fans and will certainly make a good spooky movie watch night with friends.
Score: 3/5
Gary Dauberman’s ‘Salem’s Lot is now streaming via Max, formerly HBO Max!
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Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.