We have seen many Stephen King stories reimagined on screen for a new generation in recent years and Salem’s Lot is one of the most highly anticipated upcoming Stephen King adaptations on their way. In fact, fans were afraid this feature-length take on the story of a small town in Maine plagued by a sinister, nocturnal presence might never see the light of day.
Luckily, the release of the upcoming horror movie is finally upon us. So, when would it be a good time to grab a crucifix, a wooden stake, and some garlic? Let’s start there in our guide to everything you need to know about this new vampire flick.
What Is The Salem’s Lot Release Date?
For quite some time, the biggest mystery surrounding Salem’s Lot has been when it will come out but, fortunately, we now know that it will debut on October 3, 2024 on Max. The news came months after Variety reported that Warner Bros. discussed distributing it as a streaming exclusive, meaning it would be available with a Max subscription, which has now been confirmed as fact.
Max being one of the best streaming services to subscribe to notwithstanding, this was a most exciting development in the long delay for Salem’s Lot, which actually wrapped principal photography in November 2021, as star Makenzie Leigh confirmed in an Instagram post. King himself has even seen the film and praised it on X (formerly Twitter), calling it a “muscular…, involving… [and] faithful” adaptation of his story. This makes me happy to know that it has secured a spot on the upcoming 2024 movie schedule, even if that means skipping a theatrical release.
The Salem's Lot Trailer Is As Spooky As They Come
Finally, with less than a month before its Max premiere date, the first official Salem's Lot trailer has become available. We must admit, though, the promo was worth the wait. See what we mean by watching it here:
With the appropriate choice of Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" playing over the soundtrack, the clip teases some intense vampire attacks, such as young Mark Petrie narrowly avoiding one as he scrambles into his treehouse, or Ben Mears getting scooped up by one while outrunning a sneak horde. The trailer does not, however, reveal the face of the story's main antagonist, Kurt Barlow, but that may be for the best.
What Salem’s Lot Is About
The Stephen King multiverse is full of vampires, such as the nocturnal creatures a fan may find in short stories like “The Night Flier” – which inspired a mean made-for-TV creature feature in 1997 – and his series of Dark Tower novels, among others. However, the most famous bloodsucker of the author’s creation must be Kurt Barlow, who is the centuries-old antagonist of Salem’s Lot.
The 1975 novel (King’s second) gets its title from the shortened name of the town where it is set, Jerusalem’s Lot – the childhood home of writer Ben Mears. When he returns to the Maine community to research his next book, many locals start to disappear, die, or simply act strangely. Upon further investigation, Ben starts to believe this suspicious activity is the work of a creature of the night.
The New Salem’s Lot Cast
Something that many of the best Stephen King movies have in common is a talented ensemble and this upcoming film is no exception. The Salem’s Lot cast includes a few actors starring in an adaptation of the author’s work for the first time, as well as a couple who can call themselves Stephen King movie veterans. Let’s take a look at who they are, who they are playing, and what else you may know them from, one by one.
Lewis Pullman (Ben Mears)
Starring as the hero of Salem’s Lot, author Ben Mears, is Lewis Pullman. The son of Bill Pullman is no stranger to horror – having starred in The Strangers: Prey at Night – but is best known from the Top Gun: Maverick cast as Bob, or from Amazon Prime’s sci-fi Neo-Western series, Outer Range. He also recently received an Emmy nomination for Apple TV+’s Lessons in Chemistry and is about to join the MCU, starring in the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie as Sentry.
William Sadler (Constable Parkins Gillespie)
Starring as a local cop named Parkins Gillespie (according to Vanity Fair) is William Sadler, who is one of the aforementioned Stephen King movie veterans in the cast. The actor is known for playing Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption from 1994, Klaus Detterick in 1999’s The Green Mile, and Jim in the devastating 2007 creature feature, The Mist – all of which are written and directed by Frank Darabont.
Makenzie Leigh (Susan Norton)
Playing Ben’s love interest, Susan Norton, is Makenzie Leigh of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk fame. However, many of her best known credits to date have come from the small screen – such as her brief stint in the Gotham cast and starring role in the NBC miniseries, The Slap, in 2015.
Bill Camp (Matthew Burke)
One of Ben’s most trusted allies against the vampire invasion is Matthew Burke – previously played by Andre Braugher in TNT’s 2004 miniseries adaptation of Salem’s Lot. This new version of the school teacher is portrayed by fellow Stephen King adaptation veteran Bill Camp (he starred in one of the best horror TV shows on Max, The Outsider), who also has Best Picture Oscar winners like Birdman and 12 Years a Slave, an Emmy nomination for HBO’s The Night Before, and a role in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit cast in his versatile filmography.
Spencer Treat Clark (Mike Ryerson)
A character who, unfortunately, falls prey to the vampire invasion is Mike Ryerson, played by Spencer Treat Clark. The actor already has plenty of horror experience – and even horror remake experience, having starred in 2009’s The Last House on the Left and The Town that Dreaded Sundown from 2014 – but is also best known for working with one of horror’s most prolific filmmakers, M. Night Shyamalan, on two of his less horror-centric titles: Unbreakable and Glass. Clark also starred on TNT’s Animal Kingdom, was in 2022’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and portrayed Confederate soldier Louis Powell in Apple TV+’s Manhunt in 2024.
Pilou Asbæk (Richard Straker)
Salem’s Lot’s Richard Straker is merely the latest villain to be portrayed by Pilou Asbæk, who is best known from the Game of Thrones cast as Euron Greyjoy. He also played a genetically enhanced Nazi in Overlord, Ella Balinska’s deadly pursuer in Amazon Prime’s Run Sweetheart Run, and Kordax in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. He also voices Thor in co-creator Zack Snyder’s upcoming animated Netflix original fantasy series, Twilight of the Gods
John Benjamin Hickey (Father Donald Callahan)
A local priest named Father Donald Callahan is played by John Benjamin Hickey. The actor has a Tony award for his performance in The Normal Heart and an Emmy nomination for Showtime’s The Big C, but might also be recognized from the Pitch Perfect cast as Beca’s father. Hickey also stars in the upcoming biopic, Lilly.
Alfre Woodard (Dr. Cody)
Playing a gender-swapped version of a character named Dr. Cody is Alfre Woodard – known for her Academy Award-nominated performance in 1984’s Cross Creek and Emmy wins for Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Miss Evers’ Boys, and The Practice. Salem’s Lot marks her second collaboration with writer and director Gary Dauberman after starring in the 2014 Conjuring Universe spin-off, Annabelle, which he penned. Woodard can next be seen in Apple TV+’s upcoming drama series The Last Frontier and stars opposite Morgan Freeman in the upcoming music drama, Hate to See You Go.
Jordan Preston Carter (Mark Petrie)
One of the first to catch on the vampire invasion in Salem's Lot is Mark Petrie, who is played by Jordan Preston Carter, whose only real horror experience so far was an episode of Hulu's Kindred. The young actor is also known from creator Tyler Perry's soap opera, The Haves and the Have Nots, and another Max original: the Rosario Dawson-led, four-part post-apocalyptic miniseries, DMZ.
Salem’s Lot Is Rated R
The MPA gave Salem’s Lot an R rating for “bloody violence and language.” We would consider the former detail to be a requirement of the utmost importance for a film that involves bloodsucking creatures.
Salem’s Lot Is 113 Minutes
We also know from an exclusive by One Take News how long Salem’s Lot is. The film is one hour and 53 minutes, which is about half of the runtime of the novel’s two previous adaptations (more on them later).
It Writer Gary Dauberman Wrote And Directed Salem’s Lot
The person in charge of helming Salem’s Lot is certainly no stranger to the horror genre and is clearly a Stephen King fan. The film is both written and directed by Gary Dauberman, who is also known for writing both halves of Andy Muschietti’s theatrical It adaptation. He would make his directorial debut with Annabelle Comes Home in 2018 after penning the first two installments of the possessed doll’s own trilogy of spin-off movies and The Nun, making him a key component of the Conjuring movies Universe.
Speaking of, the one who started that franchise, James Wan, is also joining Dauberman for this project. In April 2019, Wan’s involvement with Salem’s Lot was officially announced. The director of The Conjuring and its 2016 sequel shares a producing credit on the film with Dauberman and others, but it will not be the last King adaptation Wan is attached to. He will also produce The Tommyknockers, which is yet another theatrical update of a miniseries based on one of the author’s novels.
Salem’s Lot Is The Latest Of Several Movies And TV Shows Inspired By Stephen King’s Novel
Salem’s Lot follows in the footsteps of the It movies as a feature-length adaptation of the author’s work that was previously made for television as a limited series. However, the original two-part event directed by Tobe Hooper (creator of one of the best horror movies of all time, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) is not the only time this vampire story came to the small screen.
The 1979 miniseries spawned a feature-length sequel called A Return to Salem’s Lot in 1987 and an aforementioned remake starring Rob Lowe that aired over two nights on TNT in 2004. While the plot of Salem’s Lot has nothing to do with the Hulu original series, Castle Rock, Jerusalem’s Lot was a prominent setting of its second season. King later wrote a short, 19th-Century-set prequel called “Jerusalem’s Lot,” which serves as the basis of the Adrien Brody-led series, Chapelwaite, which ran for one season on Epix.
How might this new adaptation of Salem’s Lot compare to its previous interpretations and other recent Stephen King films? Don’t lose sleep over that question, as there will surely be more for us to sink our teeth into as we wait for the film to drop.
