‘Salem’s Lot’ (2024) Review – A Horror Reboot Done Right

Gary Dauberman, sole writer/director of Salem’s Lot, has been quietly killing it on the horror scene for years now. In addition to helming the criminally underrated Annabelle Comes Home, Dauberman co-wrote It Chapters 1 & 2 and played a big part in the production of the 2019 Swamp Thing. He’s got an impressive line of work on his hip already, and with his newest film, it’d be no surprise to see him become a real stakeholder in the genre.

Though when he pitched his Salem’s Lot reboot to Warner Bros., he surely never imagined it’d play out the way that it has. After initially shooting in 2021, with the planned release following the year after, the film was thrown into an unexplainable limbo.

Warner Bros. has recently become known for sending stuff to the shadow realm for reasons only noted in the memo line of a paycheck. With Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme both being written off for tax purposes, many feared Salem’s Lot was bound to share the same fate.

Until out of the darkness and for seemingly no reason at all, the film was set for an HBO Max release date this fall. This announcement came after years of speculation, highlighted by apparently solid test screenings and multiple commendations from Stephen King himself, who authored the source material all the way back in 1975.

So one long road and a bunch of unanswered questions later, here we are: Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot. His name isn’t listed in the official title, but truly, it should be. His work here is some of the most distinct that the genre has seen in a long while, at least as far as the mainstream goes.

Violent colors pierce the screen’s vinyl veil… or they would, if this was given a theatrical release. All of what already works here would be amplified wonderfully in the cinema, and it’s a crying shame that such a privilege was taken away from this one.

Still, what is good is good regardless. Dauberman allows the palette to border on fantasy in order to push visual objectives and ground the film in a world that feels properly disconnected from our own. Silhouettes play on vibrant backdrops of red, blue, and purple hues. Teal tones detail fog in at night time whilst faded orange lights keep them at bay indoors.

The set design, too – unbelievable. Among a bevy of brilliant set-pieces, the film’s finale, which actually diverts from the book’s traditional ending, is an uber-imaginative treat.

“These aren’t cars… they’re coffins.”

Without spoiling the specifics, a moment like that is the type that’ll have you unrecline your cushy chair in the theater and lock-in. Even at home, the comfort of your couch means nothing in comparison to the energy this final act exudes.

Salem’s Lot is excellent funhouse horror at best, and for most of the runtime, it lives up to that. The narrative is unfettered and easy to follow; a former resident of the lot, Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) moves back into the town in an effort to spur his career as a writer back into motion.

It doesn’t take long for him to notice that things just aren’t quite ticking right, and what follows is more reliant on the scares than it is the story beats. It just so happens that Ben isn’t the town’s only new resident, and his counterpart(s) is far less concerned with writing new tales than it is reliving old ones.

Unfortunately, most of Salem’s Lot’s mishaps are made on the page. How much of that goes back to Dauberman’s screenplay is unclear, because it is clear that much of this film is missing in the edit. The middle portion unfolds like a recap reel of sorts, flipping through only what needs to be known and leaving any and every detail to burn in the sunlight.

The structure during this stretch is just off. Main characters fall out of the light for an extended period, replaced by new ones who exist solely to set the plot into motion. Sizeable gaps are split in the screenplay for the sake of time – time that was likely taken care of in an earlier cut of the film.

It’s hard to pin the blame fully on either party without actual evidence, but regardless, the issues remain. Salem’s Lot suffers more than it should.

But what remains is more than worth a watch still. Above all else, from the moment you see Alexander Ward’s Barlow you’ll be in; hook, line and sinker. This is a movie about vampires, after all, and the chief among them looks the part and then some. This is where the special effects department really shines, especially in the ghoulish makeup and such applied to bring this monster to life. A truly frightening portrayal that ultimately sets the film apart.

Give Salem’s Lot a shot. In spite of some narrative shortcomings, this is an aesthetic heavyweight that does a lot more than much of what we’re seeing in the horror genre today. Gary Dauberman is on the rise, and sometime in the far future, we’ll be able to look back on this film as his self-started genesis. A must-see spooky season selection.

Salem’s Lot will be available to stream exclusively on Max on October 3, 2024.