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Salem’s Lot is a new adaptation of the Stephen King novel, previously made for TV in 1979 and 2004, with this latest one reaching cinemas in the UK, even though in the US, it’s only made it as far as TV again, on HBO Max.
Personally, I’d never seen either version before, nor read the book, so I had no idea what the story was about, but as soon as the plot was set out with author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman – Top Gun Maverick) returning to his home town of Salem’s Lot – once known as Jerusalem’s Lot… it’s a vampire movie, and they’ve been done a million times better than this.
You’d think a new resident in town would get a warm welcome, but not for R.T. Straker (Pilou Asbæk – I.S.S.), who’s obviously a bit weird for arranging for a huge crate of dirt delivered to his cellar, but we’re soon to find out that there’s more to that than meets the eye (clue: it relates to vampires!).
Naturally, his new abode is the old Marsten house which has been empty for decades, so, creepy old house is creepy!
There’s an attempt at romance where Ben meets and goes to a drive-in cinema to hook up with Susan (Makenzie Leigh), but the narrative would rather try and get back to the main plot, and barely manage that before you’ve dropped off, briefly showing the vampire creature Barlow (Alexander Ward) feasting upon people, including children, but while there’s some gore, but nothing compared to Terrifier 3!
Overall, Salem’s Lot 2024 is yet another film where people get killed off one by one, and brings us nothing more than “Things that go bump in the dark” nonsense.
While it’s nice to briefly see Bill Sadler as an old Sheriff – the actor probably best known for playing Death in the Bill and Ted films, but who I recall best as the unrepentant Col. Stuart in Die Hard 2 – it’s very telling that this film was left on the shelf for two years since completion before it finally got an airing in any form.
This is similar to the forthcoming Kraven The Hunter, originally scheduled for a January 2023 release, and now, eventually, coming out on December 13th this year. You don’t delay a film so long because it’s brilliant, and while that will be released by Marvel, Salem’s Lot 2024 very nearly had a stake put through it’s own heart, as Warner nearly shelved it alongside other similar costly creations such as Coyote vs. Acme, Scoob! Holiday Haunt and the infamous Batgirl.
There is no mid- or post-credit scene.
Salem’s Lot is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
However, you can buy the novel in Paperback.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 114 minutes
Release date: October 11th 2024
Studio: Warner Bros
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 0/10
Director: Gary Dauberman
Producers: Michael Clear, Roy Lee, James Wan, Mark Wolper
Screenplay: Gary Dauberman
Novel: Stephen King
Music: Nathan Barr, Lisbeth Scott
Cast:
Ben Mears: Lewis Pullman
Susan Norton: Makenzie Leigh
Mark Petrie: Jordan Preston Carter
Dr. Cody: Alfre Woodard
Matt Burke: Bill Camp
Father Callahan: John Benjamin Hickey
Danny Glick: Nicholas Crovetti
Mike Ryerson: Spencer Treat Clark
R.T. Straker: Pilou Asbæk
Kurt Barlow: Alexander Ward
Marjorie Glick: Danielle Perry
Ann Norton: Debra Christofferson
Parkins Gillespie: William Sadler
Royal Snow: Timothy John Smith
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.