The Reel Review
An author haunted by a childhood memory returns to his Maine hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot just as a mysterious figure also arrives, spawning a rapidly spreading vampire infestation. Lewis Pullman, Alfre Woodard and Makenzie Leigh (Gotham, The Assistant) star in this horror/thriller based on the 1975 Stephen King novel.
Production wise, Salem’s Lot ticks the box, with plenty of jump scares, spooky visuals and some surprisingly unexpected and sudden kills – some of which are pretty gruesome. And just like the 1979 miniseries, the iconic scene of the levitating child vampire scratching at the second-floor window to be let inside by his friend is chilling. Unfortunately, the story from writer/director Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home) is so frenetic and rushed there is no time to let any of the creepy moments truly breathe.
There is also shockingly little character development, which is particularly frustrating given that there are so many characters. Among them, Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit, Dark Waters) is a standout as the schoolteacher. As a brainless creature feature, Salem’s Lot is adequate, but it just borrows too heavily from other, better vampire movies and would have benefited greatly from being made into a miniseries.
REEL FACTS
• Lance Kerwin, who starred in the 1979 miniseries, was a prolific television actor until giving up the profession in the mid-90s, when a bout with addiction led him to a life in religion. Kerwin died in January 2023 at the age of 62 from heart failure.
• 1979 Salem’s Lot miniseries star David Soul (Starsky & Hutch), a smoker of three packs of cigarettes per day for 50 years, died in London in January 2024 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. He was 80.
• Althougb set in Maine, Salem’s Lot was filmed at various locations throughout Massachusetts.
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