Rent Salem's Lot on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Stephen King (novel), Gary Dauberman (screenplay)
Directed by: Gary Dauberman
Starring: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Jordan Preston Carter, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An author returns to his hometown of Jerusalem's Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover that the townspeople are being attacked by a bloodthirsty vampire.
Verdict
I enjoyed this much more than expected. It's got great energy and plenty of scares, adapting the usual vampire tropes without feeling the need for lengthy exposition. The lore works well, though everyone accepts the vampire theory rather quickly, and the skill set of the survivors isn't particularly notable. Part of the fun is that no character feels safe, which is apt. Condensing a book into a movie is difficult, and this certainly feels truncated. Despite that, it's an easy and fun watch, especially during the Halloween season.
Watch It.
Review
This is based on King's second published novel, adapted as a mini-series in 1979 and again in 2004. He's cited it as the favorite of his books.
Even knowing nothing about the premise, you get a sense of what's going on when two delivery guys are asked to deliver a wooden box to a spooky old manor at night. I'm guessing when the book was written this was more unique. It's a great opening scene for a scary story.
Author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) returns home seeking inspiration for his next book. I wondered if he was a struggling author as that's how movies often go, but this doesn't seem to provide an answer. He's really in town to fight vampires. He quickly gets a girlfriend to provide emotional stakes later.
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| Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard play Ben, Susan, Dr. Cody |
A vampire, Lord Barlow, is brought to town by his servant as they move into the spooky house in town. It's unclear why this town or even that house. There's a vague reference to the decline of small towns and how it provides Barlow an easy foothold. I don't understand why Barlow wanted to take over this town. He wants to convert everyone, and while it works for a scary story, it doesn't make sense. Why does he need a bunch of servants? Won't he need to feed in the future, and thus converting everyone means he'll have to move on?
I love the detail this takes for transitions, matching shots and sounds. I also like the lore. The vampires have glowing eyes and crosses glow brightly when near a vampire, violently repelling them. I get that the kids would accept the idea of vampires quickly, but Ben and his new friend Burke (Bill Camp) need very little convincing. You'd think they would need more evidence. There's no shock at such a crazy theory. They readily accept it. We get parallel stories of kids and adults realizing it's vampires, and then planning to fight.
This is better than I assumed it would be. It's fun, tapping into the usual vampire tropes while not wasting time to explain the details. If you can get over how quickly everyone instantly assumes it has to be a vampire, this is enjoyable. Often with these movies it's clear the protagonists will win and how, but with this movie I wasn't sure how they would get out of this. While they can use sunlight as protection, at night they're facing a lot of enemies. Barlow is taking over the whole town, and I wish we saw more of that. The movie shows us a couple of converts and then jumps ahead to the entire town having been turned. That could have been a fun montage or at least underscored how deserted the town is becoming. While I don't know why this town or why Barlow needs so many servants, I enjoyed the energy.
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