As a fan of Stephen King, ‘Salem’s Lot has always been one of my two favorite books of his, along with The Shining. I love most of his books that I have read but those two always felt like two of the very scariest. As such, I am a fan of the films made of them, though to varying degrees. I love the ‘SALEM’S LOT miniseries but never cared for the later remake. There’s definitely a lot to mine in the book; if done well, it could be great. The power of the miniseries is that it sets the stage so well and, as a miniseries, it populates the town wonderfully. Everything in the miniseries feels earned, and it feels like a whole, full story of a haunted town. I will grant you that the ending feels a little silly but it still works.
It works because it has the time it needs.
I was excited for the remake because it’s a great story and a new interpretation feels right.
I wish it WAS right.
‘SALEM’S LOT finds an author returning to his hometown to write a new novel. This one will be the dark history of the Marston House, a purportedly haunted house at the top of the largest hill in the town of Jerusalem’s Lot. As soon as he arrives there is a child’s disappearance, and then their brother’s sudden death and that is only the beginning. Just before the author returned a new business came to town and with it a new owner to the Marston House, a mysterious stranger from Europe, whose business partner came on ahead to get things established. With these two strangers came death, and a plague upon a town that was ripe for it, their moral compasses off and connections to one another severed. The town becomes infected with vampires and the only people to fight them are the author and his ragtag group of new friends, who also understand what is happening.
I really, really wanted to dismiss all of the crummy reviews I have seen of this film. I like a LOT of movies that the critics hate and many “fans” dislike. I am OK with that. I wanted to wait and see what the film had to offer. I like the director and was curious.
Alas, the reviews were right.
First, though, this film has a GREAT look to it. It’s filmed wonderfully, Barlow looks great, and there are great setpieces. The cast is solid too. The pieces are all there but they cut the story down so much that these are only shadows of characters, and none of them you really care about. The biggest sin here being that the villains aren’t really established so you REALLY don’t care about them.
This is a Reader’s Digest condensed version of the book on fast-forward. I think you can make this book as a feature but you have to figure out what your through-line is and what story you want to tell. This is close but it doesn’t work and doesn’t do the book or itself justice. It’s a wonderfully made shrug-fest that plays well in October, but in six months, in the year, no one will mention. I am not sure if it was the studio, or the need to force this into a feature that hamstrung the film but it just doesn’t work.
It has the ideas of the novel but none of it makes an impact or the fear of the miniseries. This just doesn’t work. I wish it did. I really wanted to like it but it doesn’t. Super fans may get a kick out of it, and it’s interesting to see how it imagines aspects of the book but it’s a poor adaptation and a terribly mediocre movie with no shadow.
Adaptations don’t have to be literal. You can interpret the work. You can take liberties. You have to capture the heart of the film, that’s what matters most but if all you do is adapt the essence, the very bare bones of it, it just doesn’t make an impact.
Bummer.
2 out of 5
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 