Last Updated on October 4, 2024 by
Salem’s Lot is a 2024 Horror Movie Directed by Gary Dauberman. The film stars Lewis Pullman, Spencer Treat Clark, and Pilou Asbæk, with a runtime of 1h 53M, and will be released on October 3, 2024.
Salem’s Lot (2024) is a new horror movie filmed according to the novel by Stephen King published in 1975.
It narrates Ben Mears, a famous writer who moves back to his home town Jerusalem’s Lot in Maine with intention of writing his next novel. Ben has not returned to this developing town for a long time and still has a vague sensation that something is wrong when he arrives.
As an outsider arriving at the small community of Jerusalem’s Lot, Ben immediately gets the feeling that something strange is afoot. This is when the townsfolk start behaving in a very strange manner and many of them disappear one by one. Ben manages to find several real friends in the town: Susan, a woman employed at the real estate company, and Matt Burke, a teacher. Gradually, they start realizing some bizarre occurrences that are interconnected with each other and link them with an old man named Richard Straker, who owns an antique shop. Yet Straker is not an actual antagonist of the story. Namely, his partner, Kurt Barlow, is an old vampire who gradually transforms the inhabitants of Jerusalem’s Lot into vampires.
Ben, Susan, Matt, and some others including a doctor by the name Dr. Cody and a young boy Mark, all join together to solve the mystery of what is happening and how they can stop Barlow from continuously killing. Mark, who likes horror films and magic, becomes one of the essential characters in the show since he knows that vampires are involved. The group also learns that Barlow has been metabolizing the entire village into vampires and making everybody become his servants.
What keeps the movie interesting is that for some time all members of the group do not get the full picture of what is going on. Barlow is an evil man and he does not want anyone to know that he is planning to take over the town and this goes on without the people of Jerusalem’s Lot noticing that their loved ones are being kidnapped. In the moments before Ben and his friends learn the truth, it is nearly impossible to restrain him.
The movie creates tension through anticipation of action. High tension is built, as characters start weirding out that something is not right with their neighbors, however, actual vampires do not come out until later in the movie. And then, for some reason, it picks up the pace and transforms into a movie full of thrilling moments when Ben and his friends try to save the town.
In many ways, perhaps one of the most stunning aspects of Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot is just how much of the source material he can cram into a runtime this condensed. Such moments are telescoped into glances or single lines of speech but are also relevant and remain true to the novel. The main plot stays intact: Ben Mears (played by Lewis Pullman) is a successful novelist who decided to return to his hometown known as Jerusalem’s Lot in Maine to start working on a new book.
For people who only wish to watch a vampire film full of passion and heat, this build-up is useful. Still, those fans who have read Stephen King’s book will have a feeling that the movie hurried through it. Despite the long and detailed coverage of the movie, not everything can be included, and there are moments from the novel that are merely symbols – a sound effect. This fast pace also creates some awkwardness. In books, it’s easy to jump between different characters’ perspectives, but in a movie, it feels strange when Ben, the main character, is missing from large parts of the second half.
However, there are also some changes that fans of the author Stephen King may not appreciate. Dauberman does not deviate much from this novel but he even locates the movie in the year 1975 just like the novel. But he still brings in his unique ideas, some of which are not polished well, especially in the early scenes. The first scenes give an impression as though one has joined the movie in the middle of it. However, Dauberman eventually settles into the groove, and, if one chooses to embrace the movie for what it is, Salem’s Lot (2024) is quite entertaining.
Yes, it is quite evident that Dauberman borrowed cues from his colleague James Wan who directed Malignant because Salem’s Lot initially sets the mood as a suspense thriller before switching to an action-based vampire story. It may not be the horror movie of the year but those who are into vampire movies, especially Fright Night and The Lost Boys of the 80s would enjoy watching this.
Salem’s Lot (2024) is relatively faithful to the story by Stephen King but some scenes and important aspects are given rather short screen time. Fans of the book might notice that some moments are shortened or changed, but the main plot is still the same: a man wakes up one day and transforms into a vampire and starts to take control of a small town and the people need to rise and fight him.
Finally, the movie is not about vampires alone but it is also about how evil can come to take over even the most innocuous villages. This movie is entertaining and frightening, provoking suspense, action, and traditional vampiric imagery, and can entice fans of Stephen King as well as thrill-seeking teenagers.
Salem’s Lot 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
Salem’s Lot is rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for bloody violence and language
Violence & Gore: Several violent scenes contain blood and gore, attacks made by vampires in which people are bitten and there is blood spurting, or blood flowing down their necks. These episodes can be very much vivid and terrifying, portraying scenes of blood sucking or turning a person into a vampire.
A number of characters are brutally killed by vampires and some of these scenes are depicted with a lot of realism. The transformation is depicted in the film whereby people change into vampires through the following radical changes: eyes changing to be white, skin becoming pale, and development of fangs. There are also scenes in which their heart is pierced through with a stake, another sign of killing vampires, which depicts blood and violence. In the supernatural horror genre, some of the transformations into vampires may be very gory and creepy, like people turning into skeletons with wings, corpses coming back to life from their graves, or hungry monsters lurking in the dark all clad in blood. Lastly, there are fight scenes involving human protagonists and vampires towards the climax of the movie. These fighting scenes are not for the weak-stomached, and they often involve close combat with bare fists, sharpened wooden stakes, and more vampire slayings. The movie establishes foreboding or fear by utilizing suspense and sharp scary scenes known as jump scares that may cause fear among the audience. There are sequences in which characters frequently get attacked, and this makes the environment very tense most of the time.
Language: The presence of strong curse words is evident and can include words such as ‘fk,’ ‘st,’ among others, and other vulgarities. These are said at times when a character experiences fear, anger or frustration, particularly when in a state of escaping from the vampires. Sometimes characters might use bad words when they are angry at each other or during a confrontation. Although there are no actual race or otherwise insults towards certain ethnicities, the language used on the whole is quite crude and vulgar.
Sexual Content: There are brief romantic moments between Ben Mears and Susan, the two main characters. These are limited to light kissing and affectionate gestures, with no explicit sexual content or nudity. Some vampire-related scenes might have a mild undertone of seduction or manipulation, as vampires are often depicted as charming but dangerous creatures.
Substance Use: There is little focus on drugs or alcohol, but certain scenes might show adults engaging in these behaviors casually. Characters might be seen drinking alcohol in social settings or to cope with stress. However, this is not a major theme in the movie and does not play a large role in the plot.
