Includes SPOILERS for Salem’s Lot (2024)The vampire movieSalem’s Lotsees Ralph Glick as the first of the townsfolk to go missing, and there’s a particular reason why. The 2024 movie is an adaptation of one ofStephen King’s best books, the 1975 classic of the same name. It’s a beloved horror story about an author, Ben Mears, returning to his old hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot. This coincides with the arrival of a vampire, Kurt Barlow, and the vampire’s assistant, Richard Straker, who purchase the old Marsten House and set up an antique shop in town, beginning their conquest.
TheSalem’s Lotcastis composed of an ensemble of various townsfolk, many of whom begin to get killed off or transformed into vampires as the film progresses. This includes protagonists like Susan (Mackenzie Leigh) and Matthew Burke (Bill Camp). Butthe first character to be killed, Ralphie Glick, is kidnapped first, and there’s a specific meaning behind his deaththat pertains tohow vampires work inSalem’s Lot, and it’s crucial to understanding the movie’s story as a whole. Ralphie is played by child actor Cade Woodward, who’s best known for his work in the MCU as Nathaniel Barton.
Barlow Needed A Human Sacrifice Before Taking Over Salem’s Lot
Barlow Needed To Consecrate Jerusalem’s Lot
A scene where Ralphie and his brother, Danny Glick (Nicholas Crovetti), are walking home, sees them approached by Richard Straker in a very suspicious vehicle, offering them a ride. When they refuse, he resorts to kidnapping Ralphie. Importantly, as the news spreads around Jerusalem’s Lot, characters note that many of the townsfolk are being ignorant of the severity of the issue. This is a crucial detail for later on. As for why Straker kidnapped Ralphie, this ties specifically to the nature of Jerusalem’s Lot and the history of the town.
Kurt Barlow has targeted Jerusalem’s Lot, butin order to take over, a human sacrifice is necessary to consecrate the town. This is an appeasement ritual that allows Barlow to begin fully conducting his affairs, transforming humans into vampires and causing his destruction of the town. Ralph is the first to be infected; he then goes to feed on Danny. The two then begin moving around Jerusalem’s Lot, turning its inhabitants into vampires on behalf of Barlow.
Why Straker & Barlow Chose Salem’s Lot
Jerusalem’s Lot Is Already A Dying Town
A crucial idea toSalem’s Lot’sendingis that the town has been “dead” the entire time. The film is very much a metaphor for societal decline in small-town America, where there’s an outward appearance of old-fashioned values and classical Americana. However, beneath that mirage isa town destroying itself through corruption. This is why it’s so important that the townsfolk are simply acting like nothing is wrong when many around them begin turning into vampires and dying. Barlow chose Jerusalem’s Lot because it was highly susceptible to him.
The idea at hand is that Jerusalem’s Lot is a town that has, over time, succumbed to many lesser evils. They’ve allowed corrupt business people into town, and so on, and in accumulating many lesser evils, they allow for a greater, more existential evil to take root. While Barlow doesn’t survive his encounter with Salem’s Lot because Ben Mears and Mark Petrie resist him,the town doesn’t recover from his impact, and the surviving characters leave it behind in ruins at the end of the movie.
How The Salem’s Lot Book Expands On The Sacrifice & Barlow’s Motivations
Barlow Has To Appeal To An Evil Entity In Jerusalem’s Lot
Because of an evil entity in the town, Barlow has to sacrifice Ralph to appease it.
There are manybook-to-movie differences inSalem’s Lot, including the nature of the town being haunted to begin with. The Marsten House is a major plot component that’s not as prevalent in the film, and it changes Ben Mears' backstory and Barlow’s selection of Jerusalem’s lot pretty drastically. Rather than his parents being killed,the book version of Ben Mears entered the Marsten House and found a hung ghost, causing him severe trauma. Because of an evil entity in the town, Barlow has to sacrifice Ralph to appease it. Only after that does he really begin his operation.
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.
Because the film left this component out for the most part, it also leaves out part of Barlow’s motivations.The Marsten House was once owned by a man named Hubie Marsten, who killed his wife and himselfdecades before the events of the book. Stephen King’s novel reveals that Barlow had been in contact with Hubie back in the 1930s, paving the way for Barlow’s eventual arrival inSalem’s Lot. The movie has to skip a lot of the detailed material for its time constraint, instead focusing on the allegorical aspect of Barlow’s takeover.
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.
