A long-delayed horror adaptation finally emerges from the shadows of the cutting room floor
In short: After years of production delays and uncertainty regarding its fate, the 2024 adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot has finally arrived on Max. Directed by Gary Dauberman, this feature film brings the classic vampire tale to a new generation, navigating a complex path from filming to its digital release.
The 2024 film marks the first feature-length adaptation of Stephen King's 1975 novel, following previous television miniseries in 1979 and 2004. The project, announced in 2019 with Gary Dauberman attached to write and direct, faced a turbulent journey. Although principal photography concluded in 2021, the film suffered multiple release delays, sparking industry fears that it might be shelved as a tax write-off—a fate that befell other Warner Bros. Discovery projects like Batgirl.
The film's eventual release on Max in October 2024 was influenced by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which created a demand for streaming content. Even Stephen King publicly questioned the studio's hesitation, noting the film was not an embarrassment. Dauberman, who aimed to remain as faithful to the source material as possible, revealed that the final cut was significantly shortened from an original three-hour version that included an opening sequence set in the infamous Marsten House.
Critical reception has been mixed, with a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 47/100 score on Metacritic. While some reviewers appreciated the film as a solid, old-fashioned spookfest, others felt it sacrificed emotional depth for jump scares. Despite these critiques, the film serves as a distinct entry in the long history of King adaptations, offering a modern, albeit heavily edited, take on the residents of Jerusalem's Lot and their struggle against the vampire Kurt Barlow.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: 'Salem's Lot (film)
- Also: Wikidata — Salem's Lot · CC0
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