To be perfectly frank: the past few years have been chaotic for streaming services as they find their bearings, seek profitability, and even find themselves consolidating. At WBD especially, a 2022 merger led to some films becoming write offs, much to the dismay of both creatives and viewers. That finished-film collateral damage included Coyote Vs. Acme and Batgirl, and for awhile, it looked as though the feature film adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (which follows a 1979 Tobe Hooper-directed CBS miniseries ^^^ and a 2004 TNT version starring the late Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hower, and Rob Lowe) could be on the chopping block, too.
Then, a twist. In February, the notoriously never-subtle King — who has also been busy using his powers to help rescue Evil on Paramount+ — let loose on X/Twitter, where he called the movie “quite good” and an example of “Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff.” The prolific horror author then dropped the hammer: “Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it’s embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the f*cking things.”
This storied project began filming amid whispers years ago. Gary Dauberman (the recent IT movies) climbed aboard as writer, director, and executive producer with James Wan‘s Atomic Monster (The Conjuring, Insidious) nabbing executive producing duties. The New Line Cinema film was apparently complete before falling off the Warner Bros. Pictures theatrical schedule. And following King’s nudge, wheels began turning again, and a release is finally happening. The updated aesthetics do look promising:
Max will officially stream the Salem’s lot movie for this Halloween season, and Dauberman recently revealed to Vanity Fair, “I’m excited it’s finally getting out there and people can see it.” I bet. With that said, let’s talk about what to expect from the long-overdue Salem’s Lot movie.
Plot
Although this story has been brought to the small screen twice already (to largely positive reception), King appears to be confident in what he’s seen for the updated version, so we must trust the process, and King has teased that a pivotal scene “could have been directed by John Carpenter in his prime.” To more of that teasing end, Max has previewed several images that we’ll scatter throughout this post, and that includes the above look at Marsten House, which appears to be the source of a vampire plague overtaking Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine. The story will adapt King’s 1975 novel (only his second after Carrie), which follows fictional author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) as he returns to his hometown to find inspiration for his next book.
As the adage goes, perhaps he should have been more careful about what he wished for. The logline confirms that Mears “discover[s] his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.” Residents are disappearing on a regular basis, and a “deceased” person will apparently vamp out and escape the morgue (with Alfre Woodard’s Dr. Cody shown reacting here):
Dauberman told Vanity Fair that viewers should expect Mears to provide the audience POV of this film with a “groundedness” on display, and more of a wildcard will be found in the character of Richard Straker, an antique store purveyor who is also new to town and lives in that ominous mansion. His silent partner, Kurt Barlow, only surfaces at night, but Straker is the guy who is selling more wares than meet the eye. Pilou Asbæk will appear in this key role (once encapsulated by Donald Sutherland), and you might remember Pilou giving villainous face vibes from a little HBO show called Game of Thrones:
Expect Pilou to “run” with his Straker version while being “just f*cking crazy charismatic,” according to Dauberman. How close will Straker be to versions that King fans have previously seen? The director addressed that topic, too:
“I was kind of wrestling with what this Straker was going to be? Is he going to be more like the book? Is he going to be more James Mason from the [1979] series? He’s an outsider in this town. And I think outsiders can sometimes be looked at as something very interesting, where people start to lean in. ‘Oh, this guy, he’s opening this antique store and he’s got all this cool stuff…’ He’s weaving his web and drawing people in.”
Also, a vampire tease is upon us:
Cast
Who will portray Barlow? Nobody has let that slip yet.
As noted above, Straker will be portrayed by Pilou Asbæk with Alfre Woodard (See) as Dr. Cody and Lewis Pullman (The Strangers: Prey At Night, Outer Range) as Ben Mears. The characters will be rounded out as follows: the conflicted and somewhat inept Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey), teacher Matt Burke (Bill Camp), Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh), and Mike Ryerson (Spencer Treat Clark).
Release Date
The film will surface (for real this time) in October on Max.
Trailer
Max isn’t doing the trailer thing yet for Salem’s Lot, but if you need to swiftly enjoy a cross-medium remake of a classic vampire story, please meet the acquaintance of AMC’s version of Anne Rice’s Lestat of Interview With The Vampire, now streaming two seasons on AMC+:
