'Salem's Lot' Reviews: Stephen King Adaptation "should leave fans of vampire tales with enough to feel satisfied when the credits roll"

Photo Courtesy of New Line Cinema/Max

         On October 3, 2024, Max premiered 'Salem's Lot', which is based upon the iconic Stephen King novel of the same name that famously received the big screen treatment. In this newest adaptation, "Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire." With a score of 56% on Rotten Tomatoes currently, the film has received a mixed reception from critics. The ensemble cast includes Lewis Pullman, Alfre Woodard, Makenzie Leigh, John Benjamin Hickey, and Bill Camp. Read the full review round-up below.

        Alexander Harrison of Screen Rant says, "At this moment, it's hard to disconnect the new Salem's Lot from its nearly two-year release delay, during which many feared the film would never, ahem, see the light of day. That's an unfortunate situation. On the one hand, it clearly didn't deserve to sit on the shelf for so long, caught up in the leadership change at Warner Bros. On the other, it doesn't quite live up to the expectations that inevitably built as Stephen King pressured the studio to release it." Adding, "I hope, with time, it can exist on its own terms. But my viewing experience was shaped by this context, which seemed to make the movie's virtues and failings equally glaring. I can't speak to how well it adapts its source material; I've never read King's original book, nor have I seen either of the two miniseries versions. I can only say I found the script inconsistently effective, balanced out by an often strong sense for horror image-making that should leave fans of vampire tales with enough to feel satisfied when the credits roll."

        Bill Bria of Discussing Film notes, "Salem's Lot (2024) is far better than some Stephen King fans might be expecting thanks to how much fun it has with the source material." Continuing, "Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot is generally regarded as the definitive screen version of the novel, given how its length allows for the majority of the book’s characters, subplots, and scenes to appear, as well as capturing Stephen King’s palpable sense of dread. This new feature film adaptation of Salem’s Lot, written and directed by Gary Dauberman (best known for his work on the Annabelle trilogy and Andy Muschietti’s It duology), cannot hope to contain as much material as either the ’79 or 2004 miniseries. Dauberman, however, doesn’t try to compete with the eerie, unsettling tone of Hooper’s version. What the filmmaker does do is make King’s story into the best kind of B-horror flick: a fun, spooky, engaging romp that has just enough of a heart and a brain to not be trashy."

       Emmanuel Noisette of The Movie Blog writes, "Salem’s Lot is a thrilling and entertaining ride that will satisfy horror fans, but with a slightly lighter touch than other horror films." Continuing, "From the get-go, one thing I really appreciated was how quickly the characters understand the seriousness of their situation. There’s no dragging things out or wasting time. By the end of the first act, you’re already neck-deep in the action, and it only gets more intense from there. By the time we hit the third act, the stakes are sky-high, and no one feels safe. When characters start meeting their ends, it’s genuinely shocking and not predictable in the least. The cast does a solid job, with Lewis Pullman delivering a strong performance, especially in his scenes with Makenzie Leigh. But for me, Jordan Preston Carter stole the show. As a young kid caught in a terrifying situation, his authenticity shines through. He steps up when needed but still maintains that childlike vulnerability, which makes his moments hit harder."

       Robert Taylor of Collider praises the film, stating, "There's nothing about the new feature-film adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot that feels particularly fresh or novel — unless you count the fact that it has no interest in being anything other than an earnest, old-fashioned spookfest. That's going to be music to some horror fan's ears, but it might also explain why Warner Bros. chose to sit on this film for two full years, finally deciding to release it directly to Max (following a premiere at Beyond Fest). Sturdy and workmanlike without ever being exceptional, Salem's Lot doesn't feel like it would have been a surefire bet for movie theaters and suggests the possibility that maybe it's actually fine for some movies to head straight to streaming." Adding, "There are a few other small details to push Salem's Lot over the hump and make it a solid spooky-season watch. I like the way the crosses glow a bright white whenever they're utilized as a weapon, blasting the vampires backward like they'd just been hit with a shotgun blast. Salem's Lot has always been about the death of the small, American town, and enough of that metaphor makes it into this version. It's going to be tough for anyone to argue that this is the best version of this particular story, and the vampire tropes the movie so seriously deploys — crosses, holy water, etc. — are so long in the tooth (see what I did there?) that it definitely runs the risk of coming across as corny. (Vampire myths have been deconstructed, reconstructed, turned YA, and everything in between since King's book was published.) Yet Dauberman's film is competent enough that I think it will manage to find an audience who's into an overly traditional take on vampire lore, as well as win over King fans who have been onboard with this tale, in all its incarnations, since day one."