MovieChat Forums > Salem's Lot Discussion > Here we go again - another disappointing...

Here we go again - another disappointing looking version of SL on the horizon...

posted 2 years ago by Ragu73 (7)
12 replies | jump to latest

As a fan of the novel and to some extent the original 1979 miniseries, I strongly suspect that this version is not going to do justice to the source material and fall way short like the forgettable 2004 Rob Lowe remake.

My biggest gripe is the decision to remake it as a single film rather a two part movie (like IT 2017) or TV miniseries. It is impossible to do the book any justice by cramming everything into 1.5 - 2 hours. What made the novel so special was the inclusion of the all the townsfolk and respective back stories and then following their trajectories as the town becomes over run with vampires (what King referred to as "Peyton Place with vampires"). The 1979 miniseries did an admirable job of trying to create this scenario with a limited budget, but fell short as many key characters were merged, scaled down or completely omitted.

So here we are again in 2022 with another substandard adaptation of Salem's Lot on the horizon. I hope at least they manage to replicate the genuinely creepy atmosphere and terrifying child vampires of Tobe Hooper's version without resorting to cheap jump scares so prevalent in modern horror films.

[–] Ant1238 (846) 2 years ago

I think unfortunately your hopes for no jump scares are unlikely, being that the only thing this guy has directed before was an Annabelle movie 😕

[–] Ragu73 (7) 2 years ago

I think jump scares have their place (the 1979 miniseries also had it's fair share - i.e. Barlow popping up out of nowhere to attack Larry Crockett et al). It's total reliance on jump scares that bothers me (e.g. Anabelle movies and The Conjuring sequels).

[–] kukuxu (5409) 2 years ago

Watch Shiki instead. It's an unconfessed anime version of Salem's Lot, and it has that slow burning pace that the story requires.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHpzmxFIt1Y

[–] Ragu73 (7) 2 years ago

Looks very interesting! Had no idea about this. Thanks for the recommendation.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 2 years ago

Worth a watch. Just avoid spoilers. The basic premise and pace is the same than in Salem's Lot (only in a small Japanese town), but it includes an extra layer when it comes to the vampires' plot, which is developed during the second half of the season. In Salem's Lot, it was the Vampire taking control of the town, while in Shiki there's a few additional plot twists.

[–] LanceDance (1088) 2 years ago

In addition to Shiki, I also recommend you watch the Midnight Mass miniseries on Netflix. Very similar story, and a perfect substitute if this remake turns out to suck.

[–] Ragu73 (7) 2 years ago

I was quite underwhelmed by Midnight Mass. I wish they had developed the head vampire a bit more instead of just portraying him as a screeching winged fiend. Admittedly, Barlow in the 1979 version was similarly one dimensional, but at least you had Straker (played with appropriately understated menace by James Mason) to add some depth to the proceedings.

[–] LanceDance (1088) 2 years ago

Part of me also wished the vampire in Midnight Mass was more developed, but then as you said with Barlow, sometimes less is more. It depends on my mood I guess.

And I felt that Hamish Linklater as the priest added as much depth as James Mason’s character did.

[–] LanceDance (1088) 2 years ago

I’ve been meaning to watch shiki for a while. Now that that you said it’s similar to Salem’s Lot, I’ll definitely give it a watch.

[–] elmacho (868) 2 years ago

agreed. in the novel, that one chapter where King goes through all the secrets the townspeople are hiding is some of his best work.

[–] Ragu73 (7) 2 years ago

Ahh yes, who can forget Pastor John Groggins preaching to be Little Misses' Thursday Night Bible Class.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 2 years ago

It will be a jump-scare CGI fest. I won't watch it unless people overwhelmingly rave about it. I was too emotionally scarred by '04 to look forward to most remakes these days. But 1 thing is certain. It will be infinitely better than the '04 steaming pile of dung. Of that I am certain. But that doesn't mean it'll be good though.