Words by MATT MAYTUM
You’re never too far away from a Stephen King adaptation. The prolific horror maestro is the most-adapted living author, and even Salem’s Lot has been made for the screen twice before (as TV miniseries in 1979 and 2004). It’s a relief then, that writer-director Gary Dauberman makes slick work of King’s doorstopper tome in this latest take on the vampire story.
For anyone unfamiliar with previous incarnations, Salem’s Lot concerns author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman), who returns to his childhood hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine. Only, just before his return, an altogether more sinister resident has moved into the creepy house that overlooks this otherwise charming small town where magic hour seems to last all afternoon and the cops are rarely busy. But before Ben can rediscover his writing mojo and develop a romance with local realtor Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh), kids start going missing, patients with punctures to the neck are being treated at the hospital, and no one is quite ready to say the v-word out loud. Soon, several unlikely heroes are going to have to sharpen wooden stakes and assemble makeshift crucifixes as the unforgiving body count stacks up.
Salem’s Lot is classic King in several key ways, from the Maine setting to the writer protagonist and the snowballing sense of dread. The ’70s era is nicely realised via the production design, which has enough restraint to avoid parody. More than anything, the period setting spares the film from smartphones and the internet, creating an insular claustrophobia in the outwardly picturesque town of the title. While there’s the occasional sense of a bigger story being abridged for a cinema-friendly running time, credit goes to the cast for building a believable sense of community, and efficiently fleshing out past histories. Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick) is a likeable everyman with a troubled past, and there’s some genuine chemistry and sweet-natured banter between Ben and Leigh’s yearning-to-escape Susan. Plus, character actors like Alfre Woodard (as a no-nonsense doctor) and Bill Camp (as the teacher slotting the puzzle pieces together) add heft to archetypal roles. The child performances were always going to be key here, too, and Dauberman elicits good work from the younger cast members, putting an updated spin on the tap-at-the-window scene that was so chillingly memorable in the 1979 version.
Given that its influences stretch as far back as Dracula and Nosferatu – a mysteriously sheltered bloodsucker relocates to spread his malign influence, with the help of a converted servant – Salem’s Lot doesn’t have anything particularly new to add to the vampire canon. But Dauberman, who has previous King form as the writer of It (2017) and It: Chapter Two, brings a surprising sense of humour to proceedings. Not only is there plenty of knowingly witty dialogue, but the slick camerawork amplifies the fun of the set pieces. Whether it’s clever pans to induce jolts (or hide the goriest moments from view), inventive use of shadow as marauding vamps attempt to stay out of the sunlight, or just wickedly choreographed kills, it all adds to the sense that Dauberman knows what his audience wants, and is having a blast delivering it. By not taking itself too seriously, Salem’s Lot gives viewers permission to lean back and indulge in a bit of old-fashioned Halloween fun best enjoyed with a crowd.
Words by MATT MAYTUM
Salem’s Lot is in UK cinemas now and on Max in the US
