#salems lot spoilers

[whumpypepsigal]

'Salem’s Lot (2024): “You all right?”

[creatchie8]

By FAR my favorite line in Salem's Lot 2024 is when Ben is arguing in the church trying to save Susan but Dr. Cody pulls out the stake and Ben goes, "No, are you fucking kidding me?" The way he's just so taken out of it and is truly like, WTF?? This is my second time watching it and both times I CACKLED SO HARD

[m-o-o-n-thatspellsblog]

me waiting for a post credit scene where it shows father callahan inexplicably alive and getting on a bus: 🤡🤡🤡

[petcr3]

we're in the BASEMENT ALREADY???

[delopsia]

Please do not repost without credit 📚

[lewmagoo]

hello????

[perryabbott]

'SALEM'S LOT (2024) dir. Gary Dauberman

[bobfloydsbabe]

I need Ben Mears to fuck me senseless while I pull his hair

[thebusytypewriter]

Arin: "I heard there's two main characters. One's a girl, one's a boy."

Me: uh oh

Arin: "Who do you want?"

Dan: "Maybe I'll be the male protagonist."

Me: UH OH

...

Kaede: "I'm the protagonist of this crazy story."

Dan: "Nevermind, I guess there's one protagonist."

Me: all clear :)

[whumpypepsigal]

'Salem’s Lot (2024): “Run, Mark, run!”

[laracrofted]

salem’s lot isn’t a bad movie by any means, but i’m genuinely surprised that what i watched is the same movie stephen king was so excited for everyone to see.

all of the actors were great, but it makes truly baffling story and character choices.

[collinsportmaine]

I finally saw the new version of Salem’s Lot (available on Max). Overall, I liked it. Even tho it departs the most from the original book, it may be the best of the three adaptations.

The cast was good. I particularly liked Louis Pullman as Ben Mears. David Soul in the 1979 TV original had too much of an action hero vibe (when cast, he had just come off a 4 year stint on Starsky and Hutch). Rob Lowe in the 2004 remake was too much of a pretty boy. Louis Pullman came across as an Everyman who fell into a nightmare.

I also liked school teacher Matthew Burke, played by Bill Camp. His death came as a bit of a shock but of course he decided to go to the haunted house alone, just before sunset!

I thought Jordan Preston Carter as junior vampire hunter Mark Petrie was terrific. He had a kid vibe but probably somewhere on the autism spectrum. I loved that he was so determined to keep his promise to Danny Glick.

In the original novel, the vampire Barlow is initially described as charming, distinguished but unsettling. In other words a modern day Dracula. I was glad the 2024 version followed the lead of the 1979 version, making Barlow a creepy Nosferatu style vampire. Although 1979’s Reggie Nalter is more memorable that Alexander Ward’s 2024 version. Was Ward’s appearance enhanced with CGI?

Speaking of vampires, the vampire transformation were done well. I particularly liked Majorie Glick in the hospital morgue. First one shoe falls off, then an arm drops down, and she sits up eerily. And we don’t see what she looks like - we just see the sheet pulled tight against her face and fangs.

Although the glowing crosses were a bit over the top, the effect looked cool and I liked how violently the vampires were thrown back when confronted with one.

One of the biggest changes from the novel was the climax at the drive-in movie theater. With all the townspeople sleeping during the day in the trunks of their cars, it was a good way to get them all together in one place. In the novel Mike and Mark had to go house to house to flush them out… then later burn Salem’s Lot down to make sure they got all of them.

Despite my praise, I can see why the movie was delayed and not released in theaters. With no “name” stars it seemed to fit better in a TV format. This version definitely felt like it would have been rated PG13. Frankly the 2024 Salems Lot needed more blood… lots more blood.

[ulfhrafnx]

the sexual tension between myself and the glow in the dark eyes of the vampires in the new sale.m’s l.ot movie.

[potter-solomons]

Finished the new Salem's Lot on MAX.

[delopsia]

Oh, what I'd give to knock on a door and for him to open it 😔 Please do not repost without credit 💡

[lewmagoo]

spoiler-y thoughts ahead

i loved salem’s lot but it suffered because they cut out some crucial parts due to time constraints and other factors (and perhaps questionable creative choices lmao) i’m sure. it would have been much better as a miniseries! here are some things i really missed:

they should have actually shown ben writing. all we got was him saying “i’m a writer” and nothing more. at least one or two scenes of him writing on his typewriter would’ve been nice.

along that same vein i would’ve liked to see more pushback from the town at his presence. only a couple people were suspicious of him. there needed to be a little bit more tension rising over the stranger in town.

they did not expand enough on him and susan’s romance. it felt like they were just friends instead of love interests. i don’t even think we got a kissing scene? only thing they did was hint at them having sex bc susan was in his room in her bra lol. in the book their romance wasn’t that groundbreaking, and it wasn’t the sole focus, but it was there. i wasn’t expecting it to be the sole focus of the movie either but there should’ve been more than we got.

in the book, matt is one of my favorite characters. i think the casting of bill camp was absolutely perfect for him! but once again they did not expand on him much. his ending sort of just fell flat, when it could have had a much more emotional impact. i will say, i did love the scene where he meets his end, barlow turning on the light behind him was so good.

straker was nowhere near as threatening of a presence as he needed to be. the actor didn’t have much to work with as it was, but he just felt like a random side character rather than barlow’s faithful servant. the scene of him going after ralphie was great though, it’s one of the best scenes in the entire movie i think

i also wish they would have emphasized ben’s connection to the marsten house. they didn’t explain why he was interested in renting it so it just felt super random that he would inquire about it at the real estate office. i was hoping we’d get flashbacks to him going inside it as a kid and why he was traumatized by it. but alas.

still speaking of ben, i didn’t mind that they changed his backstory to him losing his parents in an accident instead of his wife, however, i think him being a widower added more depth to his character in the book. it’s not that much of an issue, because i understand why they changed it, it works better in the film. however i do wish there had been at least a flashback or two of him losing his parents because it would have added more to his character.

father callahan’s end was nowhere near as intense as it should have been. like he was dead in all of five seconds. some more psychological torture and taunting from barlow would have been cool, but alas.

and then there’s the ending. i loved the drive in scene, it was so good. however it felt very anticlimactic. which, to be fair, the book’s ending was also anticlimactic. i think barlow’s death was not nearly as dramatic as it should have been. even the book made more of a show out of it than the movie did. he at least should have screamed and crumpled to dust or something, lmaooo.

the actors were also very limited in what they were given to work with. i didn’t find myself connected to any of them. i wasn’t really emotional over anyone’s deaths. i didn’t know anything about them other than the fact that they were fighting vampires, and therefore i had no stakes (no pun intended) in any of them. i will say i did enjoy lewis and makenzie’s chemistry! they were fun to watch.

all in all, i really did enjoy this movie, and i can see myself starting a tradition of rewatching it every october. but it’s just a shame that first of all, the movie was shelved for so long, and the creative minds behind it were limited by the running time and other factors.