The long-awaited new adaptation of Stephen King’s’Salem’s Lotarrived, and it’s safe to say longtime Constant Readers like me were deeply disappointed by the results, with several weaknesses I’d fix to make it a better movie.ItandIt: Chapter Twowriter Gary Dauberman was in the director’s chair for the’Salem’s Lotadaptation, tasked with the unenviable job ofwrangling King’s original sprawling’Salem’s Lotstory into a 2-hour runtimeat the behest of studio execs. The results were mixed, at best.
I have to give Dauberman credit for skillfully recreating iconic scenes from the book, especially the scene of Danny Glick hovering in front of Mark Petrie’s window, as well as including plenty ofStephen King Easter eggs in’Salem’s Lot. He also did a good job of doing what he could to craft a fast-paced, action-forward horror movie out of the much longer film he had envisioned. Still, the end result left a lot to be desired, especially for fans of the book or 1979’Salem’s Lotminiseries. The potential was there, but, frustratingly, you could see its limitations. If I had unlimited time and money, I’d fix a few key issues with the adaptation (and I suspect Gary Dauberman would have wanted to, as well).
All 16 Stephen King Books That Tie Into & Reference ‘Salem’s Lot
While Jerusalem’s Lot doesn’t feature as prominently as other places, it & ‘Salem’s Lot are still referenced in plenty of others Stephen King books.
1Develop The Main Characters
The Actors Didn’t Have Much To Work With
First and foremost, the greatest problem with the new’Salem’s Lotis that it cut so much from its runtime that the characters emerge not as fully realized people but as brief sketches of people. They are all Wikipedia page intro, no grace notes. The actors were all great - this isn’t a slight on them, because I thought they were all well cast. They undoubtedly did the best they could with what they had to work with, and there were flashes from each character of much deeper and richer development that was clearly cut. I also appreciate the update to Susan’s personality from the book to make her a bit more sarcastic and much more worldly.
That said, it doesn’t matter how much the actors gave if key threads of character development were snipped. It’s really unfortunate, as’Salem’s Lotis as much a character study as it is a vampire novel, and several of the main characters in the original book undergo fascinating evolutions. Unfortunately, the new movie cuts that out completely, and we never really get to see who these characters are, despite those frustrating glimpses of depth.
‘Salem’s Lot Was Never Meant To Be A 2-Hour Movie
To be honest, I don’t blame Gary Dauberman for’Salem’s Lot’s truncated feel. The director always gets the blame when a movie bombs, but considering the problems of getting’Salem’s Lotto the screen – first the Covid-19 pandemic, then the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger throwing everything into chaos, then WBD execs waffling on whether to scrap it, then the writers’ and actors’ strikes – I’d say Dauberman can hardly be held responsible for the outcome. It’s a miracle that’Salem’s Loteven made it to the screen at all, even after Dauberman acquiesced to studio demands and sacrificed a full hour from his original cut and Stephen King publicly called out the studio.
Two previous adaptations of’Salem’s Lothave been made before, the 1979 version and the 2004 version; both were miniseries.
That said, this’Salem’s Lotproves why the story works better as a miniseries. I suspect Dauberman’s 3-hour cut was much, much better, but WBD demanded he cut so much of it that he was only left with the ability to move from plot point to plot point, sacrificing all of the story. Whether his scrapped 3-hour movie or a miniseries,‘Salem’s Lothas always been a story that requires time to tell to work. The next time it gets remade – because it will almost certainly be remade in a few years or decades – I hope the execs greenlighting it will remember that.
3Tell The History Of The Marsten House (& Ben’s Relationship To It)
The Marsten House Is Its Own Character In The Book
While it’s not necessarily the most important part of the book, it’s a shame that’Salem’s Lot2024 cut the entire history of the Marsten House from the movie, including Ben Mears’ terrifying childhood encounter there. In the original novel, the Marsten House was a character in its own right, aHaunting of Hill House-like edifice that exhibited a sinister type of near-sentience at times.
The house had a horrific backstory, being the home of former mob hitman-turned-probable child serial killer Hubert “Hubie” Marsten, who later settles into the Marsten House with his wife, Birdie. During their years there, multiple children went missing and were never found; it’s strongly implied and believed that Hubie kidnapped and killed them. Their story came to an explosive end when he murdered Birdie before killing himself. The Marsten House is steeped in blood, and it witnessing so many evil acts is what turned it into a conduit for greater evil, precisely why Kurt Barlow and Richard Straker decide to settle there; Barlow and Marsten had corresponded for years before the latter’s death.
Who Hubie Marsten Is & What Happened To Him In Salem’s Lot
Hubert “Hubie” Marston is only briefly mentioned in the 2024 movie adaptation of Salem’s Lot, but his backstory is a vital piece of the story.
The new’Salem’s Lotalso cut Ben Mears’ connection to the Marsten House and why he’s so drawn to it. When he was nine years old, he snuck into the Marsten House and saw a vision of Hubie Marsten’s body hanging from the rafters on the spot where he had killed himself. The image haunted Ben for the rest of his life and was the driving force behind his return to Jerusalem’s Lot as he intends to write a book about the Marsten House, a detail the movie omits. While none of this is absolutely crucial to making a good’Salem’s Lotadaptation, it certainly helps to set the scene and add necessary color to the story.
4Keep The Character Deaths From The Book
The Character Deaths Were Robbed Of Impact
‘Salem’s Lotchanged up just about every major character’s death in the book, something I understood but didn’t love. Arguably, the only deaths that remained mostly the same were the ones that didn’t matter as much, such as Mark Petrie’s parents or Danny Glick being turned. The rest just didn’t have the same punch as in the book. While part of that is definitely down to the aforementioned lack of character development, I’d argue the changes went too far.
All 14 Major Deaths in Salems Lot, Explained
Salem’s Lot sees many deaths thanks to vampire Barlow feeding on town residents, but not all of them return as vampires at some point.
I understand why it was done: some of the book deaths simply didn’t work in the adaptation. Matt Burke being turned by Kurt Barlow and allowing Mark Petrie to escape, for example, is a far nobler ending than the one he got in the book of suffering a heart attack and dying in a hospital bed.Dr. Cody’s death in’Salem’s Lotis the most brutal and memorable in the book, however, and it should have been kept. I understand the optics of having the race- and gender-flipped character die by falling from a rigged staircase onto knives might have been a step too far for WBD execs. Still, Alfre Woodard’s character being unceremoniously killed by a shotgun blast was insulting. Dr. Cody deserved a bigger, more poignant death than that.
5Give Father Callahan His Same Book Storyline & Ending
Father Callahan’s Story Was One Of The Most Compelling In The Book
The death that made me the most angry was Father Callahan’s. Of all the characters who got shortchanged in the’Salem’s Lotadaptation, it’s arguably Father Callahan. In the book, he doesn’t die at all. Instead, a far worse fate befalls him. In the showdown in the Petrie house, Kurt Barlow force-feeds the conflicted priest his blood, rendering him forever “unclean” and ensuring that Father Callahan can no longer enter his church, or any sacred space or hallowed ground. It’s a crueler,more tragic ending in’Salem’s Lotthan death for Father Callahan, especially as it ties into the themes in Father Callahan’s story.
Salem’s Lot (2 ep. miniseries)
1979
2004
Chapelwaite (10 ep. limited series)
2021
N/A (“Jerusalem’s Lot” adaptation)
Salem’s Lot (feature film)
2024
Alexander Ward
Part of the richness of Stephen King’s’Salem’s Lotis how deeply it explores the concepts of good vs. evil, and faith vs. disbelief. Barlow is able to overpower the priest because Father Callahan’s faith has been wavering for years, and, in the end, it’s not strong enough to protect him from the legendarily evil creature. When Barlow taints him forever, it removes the priest’s future choices. Even if he were to regain his faith, he’s forever barred from hallowed spaces. Ironically, the act is a horrific way to restore the doomed priest’s belief in God. For a man who is no longer sure about the priesthood, the cruelest ending is for him to find out how much worse it can get when he can’t access that calling at all.
6Better Develop Ben & Susan’s Romance
She Might As Well Have Been Killed By Any Character
The circumstances of Susan’s story and death remained largely intact in the new’Salem’s Lot, even if the location and events surrounding it were changed from the book. Just like in the book, Ben is the one who has to kill her after she turns, and I believe he should always be the one who has to kill her, no matter the adaptation. It’s a pivotal moment in the book and for Ben’s character, and, considering their romantic relationship, no other character ending her undead life would have as much of an impact.
Unfortunately, it could have been any character in the new’Salem’s Lotto stake newly-turned vampire Susan, seeing as how her romance with Ben was barely formed on the screen. Ben was the one to do it, but it might have been Dr. Cody, or her mother, or Matt Burke, or even Mark Petrie – in fact, it might have been even more impactful and horrific for the child to end the life of his ally. We simply didn’t get enough of their love story, so wonderfully built in the book, for their connection to feel particularly deep. That lack of build-up robbed Susan’s death of any emotional weight since we never once get the sense that she and Ben are in love.
7Make The Townspeople Of Jerusalem’s Lot More Prominent Characters
The Townspeople Became Nameless NPCs In The Movie
The main characters aren’t the only ones who suffer from a lack of development in the new’Salem’s Lot. They may be underdeveloped, but at least they get some screen time. One of the many elements sacrificed for the sake of a shorter runtime, in the new movie, themany colorful residents of the town of Jerusalem’s Loteither get a single scene or are cut entirely.
It’s a real shame, as they’re the supporting backbone of the story in the book. Getting to know their flaws, their small rivalries, their challenges and their joys, their small-town secrets, is exactly what makes the takeover of Jerusalem’s Lot so heartbreaking. When they’re turned or killed, it hurts; they were real people with real lives. Unfortunately, the movie reduces them to non-entities, NPCs who are merely there to create an army of glowing-eyed vampires.
8Fix The Wonky CGI
The Other Glaring Problems Made It Stand Out More
The last thing I’d fix in the new’Salem’s Lotmovie is the CGI. It’s not a dealbreaker – a movie’s story and characters will always trump any wonky CGI – but when the rest is lacking, it makes bad CGI all the more noticeable. Some shots in’Salem’s Lotwere genuinely gorgeous, and the mid-’70s production design and set decoration are near-impeccable. Truly, I was impressed. It’s about as natural and immersive as any period piece we’ve seen in years. The cinematography was also impeccable; certain shots might have been a painting.
89%
65%
69%
49%
48%
41%
All this visual excellence made the sometimes really shoddy CGI stand out, especially toward the end. Scenes with the Marsten House in the background, and the sunset shots in the third act of the movie were particularly bad. The movie also relied far too much on CGI to tweak Kurt Barlow’s appearance and make him more monstrous where it would have been better served using practical effects. While, again, it’s not a dealbreaker, it was noticeable enough to take me out of’Salem’s Lotat times when it was already struggling to overcome the rest of its problems.
Salem’s Lot
Salem’s Lot is a 2024 remake of the movie of the same name released in 1979. The latest adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, and Bill Camp, with Gary Dauberman writing and directing the Max original film. The plot revolves around a writer who discovers a vampire in his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot upon returning home for inspiration.
