21/27
Writer Gary Dauberman told Den of Geek in June 2019 that his goal with the remake of Salem’s Lot is to make vampires scary again
Chronology
An author returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover that the townspeople are being attacked by a bloodthirsty vampire. He wants to move away from the sexier, more romanticized undead that has infested pop culture for much of the past quarter-century, thanks to everything from Interview with the Vampire to Twilight to The Vampire Diaries. When Ben is reading old newspapers on microfilm at the library, a headline reads “Local Couple Victims of DUI.” The newspaper was supposedly printed in 1956, at a time when the term “DUI” was not yet in use.
What makes the book a masterpiece is the slow pace of the story
References Trog (1970). SundownWritten and performed by Gordon LightfootCourtesy of Warner RecordsBy arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV. TV Licensing.
The budding love
The vignettes of strange things happening in the city. The final reunion of a gang of misfit heroes who come together in King-esque perfection. All of that is gone.
The pacing is largely inconsistent
Characters jump to conclusions (the right ones, always) without a second thought. It’s hard to love any of the characters because they all lack the depth they need to move the story forward. There are some genuinely amazing moments here and some small sparks of genius.
But, unfortunately, this adaptation is devoid of its fangs
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