SALEM’S LOT

**

Directed by Gary Dauberman.

Starring Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Jordan Preston Carter

Horror, USA, 113 mins, Certificate 15.

Released in cinemas in the UK on October 11th by Warner Bros

With only his second novel, Stephen King dragged the vampire mythos fully into the twentieth century with Salem’s Lot, a chunky page turner that effortlessly combined soap opera stylings with supernatural terror to massively entertaining, and influential, effect. Adapted for television three years after its 1975 publication by Tobe Hooper, this two part miniseries would also prove influential with its regular TV screenings throughout the 80’s on both sides of the Atlantic. Containing many effective images and scenes of its own such as an undead child vampire floating through his friends bedroom window or the effective Nosferatu like appearance of head vampire Barlow that would go on to have such an effect on audiences of the time.

After a mostly forgotten 2004 TV adaptation starring Rob Lowe, we return once more to the sleepy town with writer and director Gary Dauberman. Making his name with the ANNABELLE franchise, Dauberman proved his King credentials with his screenwriting for the successful two part adaptation of IT. One of the more successful aspects of said adaptation was the small town atmosphere and how easily it can be taken over by a malignant supernatural force, which would in theory make Dauberman a safe pair of hands for this tale of a vampire and his human familiar taking over a small American town for their own nefarious purposes.

Something has been lost in translation here however. After sitting on the shelf for two years, and receiving a streaming only release in the US, rumours have been swirling as to the quality of this particular adaptation amid a troubled production. Reportedly cut down from a three hour running time it feels and plays out as massively truncated, tripping over itself in its mad rush of a final act that will fail to satisfy both fans of King’s novel and those new to the the story.

All of which is a shame because there are moments that suggest Dauberman could have been capable of delivering something more satisfying if it was allowed the room to breathe and play out at its own pace. Scenes such as Straker, played by a hammy Pilou Asbæk, claiming his first victim for his master are stylishly filmed and strong character set-ups seem to suggest more scenes in a similar vein were planned. Some members of the cast fare better than others. Bill Camp, also impressive in the HBO adaptation of King’s THE OUTSIDER, is ideally cast as school teacher Matt Burke while Alfre Woodard’s take on a gender flipped Dr. Cody provides one of the film's liveliest and entertaining characters. 

The rest of the cast, including Lewis Pullman as the reluctant hero/returning resident Ben Mears and John Benjamin Hickey as the alcoholic Father Callahan also provide strong work, but suffer massively with the cuts that have been made here. The heartbreaking conclusion of Callahan’s arc from the novel has been swapped over for something far more disposable here, a fate which most of the characters face in this weak adaptation and will further disappoint fans of King’s original work. As for Barlow, the long awaited appearance of one of King’s greatest villains only results in a generic character that appears to have been conjured in a rush of reshot, post-production CGI that is as unconvincing as it is completely unmemorable, especially in comparison to Reggie Nalder’s chillingly grotesque portrayal from the 1978 miniseries.

While nowhere near the worst of King adaptations, this is still a crushing disappointment. Maybe one day there will be a director’s cut that reveals something more successful. It could be that the books many characters and subplots would be better served in a mini-series format but coming so soon after MIDNIGHT MASS, Mike Flanagan’s superior riff on similar material, that decision could be seen as redundant. At the very least another re-read of the original novel will more than do until the next, inevitable attempt at an adaptation.

Iain MacLeod