Salem's Lot review: "This Stephen King adaptation is midnight movie kind of fun"

Delayed for more than two years by the pandemic, the SAG-AFTRA strike, and, in all probability, restructuring at the Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate (the same restructuring that saw Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme shelved as tax write-offs), Gary Dauberman’s adaptation of Stephen King’s sophomore novel finally sees the sun. But unlike a vampire it doesn’t, thankfully, burst into flames and perish. 

Maine, the 1970s: returning to his childhood town of Jerusalem’s Lot, author Ben Mears (Top Gun: Maverick/Thunderbolts*’ Lewis Pullman) learns that the spooky Marston House has been bought by the mysterious Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward) and his helper, Richard Straker (Pilou Asbæk). Soon the local residents are turning into creatures of the night, and Mears finds himself leading a ragtag band of locals (Bill Camp, Alfre Woodard, Makenzie Leigh) in a high-stakes (ahem) operation.

As Dauberman proved in writing It Chapter 1 and 2, he has a deep affection for King’s work. So while this movie is necessarily pruned of characters and subplots (there’s good reason that King’s dense novel has twice before been turned into a miniseries), it does retain the author’s feel for small-town America. And while no single scare can match the kid tapping at the window in Tobe Hooper’s 1979 series, Dauberman does come up with unnerving images and neat twists on vampire lore.

Is Salem’s Lot a top-tier King adaptation? No. But not for nothing is a drive-in theater a key location in the action - this is the kind of fun midnight movie that teens flocked to in the '70s. 

Salem's Lot is released on Max in the US on October 3 and in UK cinemas on October 11. 

For more, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming horror movies to watch out for.