Last Updated on September 9, 2024 by Angel Melanson
For a while there, it looked like we were never going to get to see Gary Dauberman's ‘Salem's Lot, but today brings a new clip of the upcoming Stephen King adaptation courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.
Releasing on Max this October, ‘Salem's Lot stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, John Benjamin Hickey, Nicholas Crovetti, Jordan Preston Carter, William Sadler, Spencer Treat Clark, Cade Woodward, Debra Christofferson, and Pilou Asbæk.
In case you haven't read the 1975 novel (or seen any of the previous adaptations, including the 1979 CBS miniseries), ‘Salem's Lot is set to follow the same plot:
Ben Mears, a best-selling author, returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot, Maine, seeking a change of scenery and a dose of creative inspiration. Despite falling for Susan Norton, who has bigger dreams beyond her small town, he couldn't have come at a worse time. Ben's arrival coincides with a man named Richard Straker (Asbæk) taking up residence in a long-abandoned mansion that overlooks Jerusalem's Lot — where his master, an ancient vampire, dwells. The tragedies begin with the disappearance of the young Ralph Glick (Woodward), followed swiftly by his brother, Danny (Nicholas Crovetti), the earliest victims of this bloodsucker, who threatens to take over the entire community.
In today's new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pullman elaborates further on what we can expect from Dauberman (who previously directed Annabelle Comes Home and co-wrote another King adaptation, 2017's It and its sequel, It: Chapter Two) and his vision of the project:
“Salem's Lot is such a special book because there's a lot of macro sociopolitical themes in there. It's not just a horror book […] How Gary approached it was almost like, this is not a horror movie. This is a movie about a small town in America where something horrific happens. He was trying to also rekindle the fire of mystique about vampires. They've shifted in many different ways over the last couple of decades in terms of pop culture. I think Gary really wanted to return back to this very mysterious, almost mythological lens on them.”
Dauberman's story is set in the 1970s, the same time period as King's original novel. And the film itself feels like a movie made in a different, more retro era, from the practical sets to specific shots that emulate that vintage, pulp imagery that once donned the paperback book covers of Salem's Lot. Pullman describes it as a “guttural approach.”
King himself took to Twitter/X back in February to say some pretty promising things about Dauberman’s vision:
Between you and me, Twitter, I’ve seen the new SALEM’S LOT and it’s quite good. Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it’s embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the fucking things.
While today's new clip, entitled ‘Where's the Body?', doesn't give a peek at anything too guttural, it certainly does promise that slow burn tension that King was hinting at.
Check it out for yourself below and we'll bring you more updates on ‘Salem's Lot when we get them.
