#Joseph Marrella

[gbhbl]

Horror Movie Review: Salem’s Lot (2024)

When author Ben Mears comes back to his childhood home in search for some inspiration for his next book, he discovers that people in his home town are mysteriously dying.

Salem’s Lot is a 2024 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Gary Dauberman, based on the 1975 novel by Stephen King. Writer Ben Mears returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot to write a book about his childhood. He befriends and starts a romantic relationship with Susan Norton, a local who has an overbearing mother and dreams of leaving town. Meanwhile, middle school student…

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

‘SALEM’S LOT (2024)

Starring Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Bill Camp, Jordan Preston Carter, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Treat Clark, William Sadler, Pilou Asbæk, Alexander Ward, Danielle Perry, Debra Christofferson, Cade Woodward, Joseph Marrella, Derek Mears, Timothy John Smith, Mike Kaz, Declan Lemerande and Oliver Dauberman.

Screenplay by Gary Dauberman.

Directed by Gary Dauberman.

Distributed by Max. 113 minutes. Rated R.

I have been a Stephen King fan for well over 40 years now, and ‘Salem’s Lot was my introduction to his writing, and is still my favorite King novel, although I feel that he has many other classics. I’ve read it several times over the years, most recently a few years ago. As far as I am concerned, it’s a nearly perfect horror novel.

‘Salem’s Lot was the second book that King had published, although I seem to remember hearing that he wrote it before he wrote Carrie, which was his breakthrough novel. And, as is generally the case with King’s books, ever since Hollywood has been trying to tame the story and bring it to the screen.

This is the third version of ‘Salem’s Lot to be filmed, although the first two times it was done as a television miniseries. The original – and probably the best – version was done in 1979 on network television with David Soul, James Mason and Bonnie Bedelia. It was directed by legendary horror filmmaker Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist). Since it was on old-time TV, it was a little slow-moving and not very violent, but it still had a few legendary scares.

In 2004, it was made as a miniseries for a cable network (TNT), so the makers were free to play with the violence, language, etc. It was extremely well cast – Rob Lowe, Andre Braugher, Donald Sutherland and James Cromwell – and faster-paced than the earlier series, but it strayed from the original storyline and eventually didn’t quite work.

Now, it has been made as a movie. Actually, it was made a couple of years ago and has been on the shelf at Warner Brothers for a long time. It was originally planned for theatrical release, then was pulled from release for quite a while, making it seem it would never see the light of day. Eventually, Warner Brothers decided they had already made it, may as well release it on their Max streaming service.

Honestly, the new ‘Salem’s Lot is a reminder of why Stephen King’s novels rarely work well as two-hour movies. There is just way too much of this storyline which is just skipped over. Major plot threads (like the history of the infamous haunted Marsten House) and characters are either downplayed or completely ignored. Without the background information, things happen way too quickly in the film and much of the plot makes little or no sense.

It should be noted that the original director’s cut was apparently three hours long, and honestly if the original edit were ever released (which I sincerely doubt considering the trouble it took to just get the movie released at all), I’ll bet the ‘Salem’s Lot movie would be a lot better, or at the very least a lot more understandable.

Maybe if you have never read the book or seen any of the previous versions, ‘Salem’s Lot would be worth the watch. Personally, I think it’s just okay but given the choice I’d rather just rewatch the 1979 version – which conveniently Max added to its service together with the new movie. Better still, just read the novel.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 5, 2024.

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: American Fiction

Rating: R

Director: Cord Jefferson

Cast: Jeffrey Wright, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Sterling K. Brown, Skyler Wright, John Ales, Patrick Fischler, Carmen Cusack, Joseph Marrella, Stephen Burrell, Issa Rae, Nicole Kempskie, Becki Dennis, Tracee Ellis Ross, Myra Lucretia Taylor

Release year: 2023

Genres: drama

Blurb: Thelonious "Monk" Ellison's writing career has stalled because his work isn't deemed "black enough." Monk, a writer and English professor, writes a satirical novel under a pseudonym, aiming to expose the publishing world's hypocrisies. The book's immediate success forces him to get deeper enmeshed in his assumed identity, and challenges his closely-held worldviews.

[emertainmentmonthly]

Willy Shines Again in Lyric Stage’s “Death Of A Salesman”

Willy Shines Again in Lyric Stage’s “Death Of A Salesman”

Quinn Banford  ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Stage Editor

Paula Plum, Ken Baltin, Joseph Marrella and Kelby T. Akin in Death of a Salesman. Photo by Mark S. Howard/Lyric Stage.

While the tragedy of Willy Loman, retold in Lyric Stage’s latest rendition of Death of a Salesman,might be perceived to those that know nothing of the new production as an outdated version of middle class reality, the Lyric’s…