Among all the fictional small towns created by Stephen King, Jerusalem’s Lot (Salem’s Lot) strikes the right chord. Other than the well spoken title which is most associated with salem’s lot – it is a small Maine town that for some reason or another becomes prey to a bloodthirsty vampire. There is also some sort of interest from the film industry to this name as it has been made into at least two movies, not counting the latest one which is due on October 3.
Since the first movie adaptation of Streisand’s Massachusetts set in an American Gothic suburb turned out to be relatively less successful than her actual production in the series, With this format the first attempt for a television adaptation and the first serial began to appear. I’m sorry there’s not more to come out soon, but it seems that this adaptation continues the tradition of killer beasts in places of civilized entertainment. Once again revived, it paid off. Now it is most convenient to watch only on streaming. Max – ONIT! Movie goers printed their money for the second look – cameo: Gary Dauberman – Annabelle Comes Home – it scares with vague sentiments and promises many thrills, although lower budget films usually end up there these days. The horror genre is right on target with Halloween around the corner and every fan of this gloomy holiday shall join in with TV in hand focused on the only thing that matters now.
First, it would certainly be a strong statement to say that there’s a Stephen King novel that stands out from the rest of his works. It is needless to say that his quite voluminous however normal contains Shelter, Stand and Carries classics as well. Yes, MEGA yes – the self-parodying horror Salem’s Lot is also here, immersing himself in what is often referred to as ‘the modern take into vampires. Well since there have been already three of them, one can guess that the foundations are rather solid. So do we need another one? Most likely yes, as even King is quite a self-proclaimed supporter of this other adaptation by Dauberman, who also wrote the screenplay for the last It which was another Stephen King sensation.
Moving on to the plot, this film centers on a young writer, Ben Mears, who is also a resident of the eponymous town (Lewis Pullman, who shared his excitement about the film with us earlier this year). This time around, however, he is in Jerusalem’s Lot to re-energize himself in writing. And in the meantime, there lurks a strikingly handsome American businessman named Richard Straker(Pilou Asbaek) with an odd accent and dubious reason to open a business in this plain part of Maine.
The King fans, however, are aware of the long con and what they are up against from Straker; however, that does not ruin anything, as such an understanding offers great contrast to the amiable nature of the inhabitants who keep the town tame, and in one piece, Nash. This is also a warm, & cute innate supporting cast that forms the town.
The town’s plush inhabitants of Jerusalem’s Lot also comprise the fatherly Matthew Burke (Bill Camp, noted King-verse fan after HBO’s the Outsider), who is also a friend to Dr. Cody (the ageless Alfre Woodard) and gravesman Mike Ryerson (child actor Spencer Treat Clark grown-up) who has to work together with the drunkard priest Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey) & also most probably, with the buried corpses, who are really unwilling to stay within their resting places. Also, the children (like Goodnight Mommy’s Nicholas Crovetti) managed to defeat evil as well.
From this minor group, there is one who stands out as a supporting character, Susan Norton, brought to life by the beautiful actress Makenzie Leigh (The Assistant) One knows this is the setup for a vampire movie, and the first stalker gets onto frame with her particular seductive look and different shade of skin than the others, one asks if she is a monster in disguise who has been planted in plain sight.
Small-town settings are perhaps overdone in the hands of Dauberman who attempts to be a bit too contained even within the boundary. We have oriented ourselves too much towards the residents that there is too little of the delectably wicked vampire himself and not enough great character development about the principal character.
The end product is somehow a notch higher than the usual vampotic exctiation with the added advantage that its present day characters don’t go exploring what a vampire is and even use the ancient text to fight off the blood suckers. Most times, your characters are not speaking how Anne Rice’s characters speak or use terms like ‘zombie’. This self-aware mentality which is present in the film Salem’s Lot is interesting.
One advantage is the fact that Dauberman easily embraces plotlines where certain characters would be killed and become vamps. No spoilers here, but these slow-burn chills are perhaps when the film succeeds most — fragments of memorable yearning characters slipping into madness and amnesia as day slowly gives way to night in their universe. And while the cinematography may not come across as terrifying as much as you may wish, it does provide a really befitting resolution that just wants to be given a chefs kiss.
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