Much like the novel, the new Stephen King adaptation Salem’s Lot has no shortage of jump scares, but one moment even had the cast feeling tense as they reveal what it was like to shoot that terrifying morgue scene.
Warning, this article features mild spoilers for the new Salem’s Lot movie so if you haven’t already read King’s novel, you may want to turn back now.
"Something about that slipper dropping got me every time," says star Lewis Pullman of that creepy scene where his character Ben Mears alongside Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh) and Dr Cody (Alfre Woodward) see a vampire come back to life in the morgue, which we got a peak of in the Salem’s Lot trailer. "Yeah, that's almost more than the sheet and everything."
Written and directed by Gary Dauberman, Salem’s Lot follows author Mears as he returns to his hometown in search of inspiration for his new book, only to find the place crawling with vampires, one being in the morgue. But as spine-chilling as that moment may have been, Woodward saw the funny side of it and channeled her no-nonsense character. "It was so much fun," adds Woodward. "She sees the shoe drop and thinks ‘it probably just fell, maybe it just had a muscle reflex’... and then that hussy come flying across the room and you don't expect it."
But there was also a lot of physicality in the scene as Woodward reveals "I was wrestling a stunt woman, a vampire. She was a mighty person, and it was hard to do. So, I didn't have to act. All I had to do was physically play. It was wonderful, and that's what I signed up for."
On the other side of the coin, though, is Spencer Treat Clark who plays local turned vampire Mike Ryerson, and we get to see his transformation before our very eyes in another one of the movie’s jump-scare-packed scenes. "I got to do some cool stunt stuff," says Clark, who gets thrown against a wall when faced with a holy cross.
Clark adds that the head vampire who turns the locals in the first place actually gave him some tips for his transformation. "Alex Ward, who plays Barlow, does a lot of, like, character work with all sorts of movies and plays creatures, and has just amazing physicality. So he was on set with all of us, kind of helping Gary create the aesthetic and the movement."
Aside from the two vampire-turning moments we discuss here, the movie is filled with scares that will have you covering your eyes, including a tense ending that the director changed from the original novel but still managed to include that King whimsy. Let's just say, you may need to bring a pillow to hide behind when you go and see this one.
Salem's Lot premieres on Max in the US on October 3 and in theaters in the UK and Ireland on October 11. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies, or keep up to date with upcoming horror movies heading your way this year.
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