Stephen King Vampire Adaptation Assessment

Salem’s Lot has been a beloved Stephen King e book for almost 50 years, and has already been adapted twice. The Maine city whose quaint exterior masks an intense vampire drawback finds its approach again on the map because of Gary Dauberman’s new feature, initially slated for a theatrical release earlier than being shuffled to Max. It presents a golden-hued nightmare that admirably commits to its Nineteen Seventies setting, however doesn’t fairly nail the weather which have made King’s story so enduring.

Maybe it’s simply that Salem’s Lot, a doorstop of a e book as many King novels are typically, isn’t suited to containment right into a film that runs below two hours (each earlier variations have been TV miniseries, and hovered nearer to 3 hours). Whereas there’s a transparent protagonist—novelist Ben Mears, performed right here by Lewis Pullman (Outer Vary, Classes in Chemistry, Thunderbolts*)—the e book additionally provides house to a number of different Salem’s Lot residents, introducing them and exploring their twisted interior lives. The reader has ample time to appreciate the place isn’t as healthful because it seems even earlier than a supernatural menace lurches into city.

King additionally devotes a whole lot of phrases to essentially the most distinguished landmark in Salem’s Lot: the Marsten Home. The crumbling mansion with a tragic previous looms over the city, broadcasting a continuing reminder that darkness can fester in even essentially the most idyllic communities. Its sinister attract is what attracts Ben, who lived in Salem’s Lot as a baby, again to city; it’s urged alongside the best way that the home is definitely intertwined with evil itself, making it the right HQ for a touring vampire.

In case your first encounter with Salem’s Lot is Dauberman’s movie, nonetheless, you may not decide up on… any of that. The Marsten Home is a part of the story, certain, however its significance feels decreased. Particulars about its historical past are relegated to a montage within the opening credit, a fast dialog or two, and a few library microfiche scrolling. Whereas it’s understood and even anticipated that any adaptation will take liberties with its supply materials, audiences must also be given sufficient element that they will simply sit down and luxuriate in a film or TV collection with out having learn what got here earlier than.

The characterization of Ben Mears might be the largest stumble on this tackle Salem’s Lot. Within the e book, Ben is haunted by an encounter he had within the Marsten Home a long time in the past after coming into on a kiddie dare; he’s additionally grieving the far more moderen lack of his spouse. Each particulars are absent right here. As a substitute, all we get is that Ben is a semi-successful creator whose most up-to-date e book acquired middling critiques; he’s returned to Salem’s Lot, the place his mother and father died 20 years prior, hoping that reconnecting together with his youth will spark contemporary inspiration. Pullman’s efficiency doesn’t add a lot depth; it seems like he’s skating throughout the floor, at the same time as Ben’s drawn right into a romance with the one cool lady on the town (Makenzie Leigh as Susan Norton) and befriends native instructor Matt Burke (Invoice Camp).

His circle additional grows when, per week into his keep, the machinations of Richard Straker (Pilou Asbæk, sadly underused) and his vampire grasp, Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward), escalate from “vintage retailer opening quickly” to “bloodsucking chaos,” and we meet Dr. Cody (a splendidly wry Alfre Woodard), Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey), and tweenage horror fan Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter).

They band collectively to battle again, however with out the groundwork laid to recommend what’s taking place in Salem’s Lot is a cosmic inevitability—the sheriff, performed by the nice William Sadler, declares at one level that the city is dying and that’s why Barlow settled there, an remark that appears plucked from skinny air—it feels a bit like Ben simply occurred to choose the worst attainable second to go to.

There are different flaws within the script—there’s some heavy-handed foreshadowing, like a harmonica seemingly launched solely in order that it could present a spooky sound impact a couple of scenes later—however Dauberman’s apparent affection for his setting, retaining Salem’s Lot in 1975 similar to King’s e book, is totally a optimistic right here. The manufacturing design and cinematography keep true to the retro vibes, and the addition of a drive-in theater proves a interval excellent element that brings a nifty dimension to the story.

The particular results, nonetheless, don’t sustain the classic really feel, particularly in relation to one notably memorable CG shot (you’ll comprehend it while you see it). There’s undoubtedly extra gore than we’ve ever seen in a Salem’s Lot adaptation—a bonus of not being made for broadcast TV—but it surely doesn’t go excessive. Sadly, it’s by no means very horrifying, with leap scares doing the heavy lifting and “Character X, why did you do this dumb factor?” supplying an terrible lot of the stress.

And perhaps that’s the final drawback with this Salem’s Lot. It’s entertaining and it follows the final contours of King’s well-loved story, but it surely doesn’t deliver a lot of something new to the desk apart from the drive-in scenes. With out that sense of creeping dread—that the Marsten Home is a focus of unholy power that’s been infecting the city for generations—it seems like an adaptation that’s each trustworthy but in addition curiously lacking a number of the most fascinating elements.

It’s not a unhealthy film. It’s value including to your Halloween-season viewing queue. However watching it, you’ll perceive why Warner Bros. opted for a streaming launch—and sure agree with the choice.

Salem’s Lot arrives October 3 on Max.

Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to count on the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and every little thing you have to find out about the way forward for Doctor Who.