Stephen King’s second full-length novel, Salem’s Lot, was released in 1975 and is probably his most dramatized work of fiction. The 1979 miniseries starring David Soul is seared into the memories of those who were terrified by it at the time. However, this new no-frills version from Gary Dauberman – a film that languished in limbo for a couple of years and was in danger of slipping into ‘tax write-off’ oblivion for a while – does a pretty good job of retelling a familiar story with a few embellishments to give the narrative a new spring in its step, particularly towards its fiery climax.
Author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) arrives in his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in Maine to write a book about his childhood. He is attracted to local girl Susan Norton (Mackenzie Leigh). He is intrigued to learn that the long-abandoned Marston House that overlooks the town has a new owner in the shape of the mysterious Richard Straker (a ripe performance from Pilou Asbaek), who covertly instals a coffin in the basement of the house. Before long, a local kid goes missing – sacrificed to the vampire Barlow (Alexander Ward) – and his brother dies of pernicious anaemia but is soon resurrected as one of the undead. Ben begins to realise that there’s a sinister presence lurking at the Marston House, and before you can say “What nice sharp teeth you have”, he and a group of allies – Susan, local medic Dr Cody (Alfre Woodard), faithless priest Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey) and brave youngster Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter) are fighting for their lives as the town is overrun by blood-suckers.
Salem’s Lot mercifully doesn’t try to reinvent vampires as romantic figures or use them as allegories for the trials and tribulations of growing up different in a world that doesn’t understand; these are ruthless, snarling, ghastly monsters, and they’re all the better for it. In fact, Salem’s Lot as a whole is better for having no pretensions, no hidden meanings, and no purpose other than to present a spooky horror story about mad-eyed vampires on the rampage. The action is brisk and well-staged, the denouement is particularly clever, and if our hero Ben Mears is a bit listless and uninspiring in the first half of the story, he really springs to life in the third act as all Hell breaks loose in Salem’s Lot. This new version of the story doesn’t add anything new to the vampire genre, but it really doesn’t need to. Bloody good fun for the Halloween ‘season’.
SALEM’S LOT is in UK cinemas now and streaming on Max in the USA.
