I thought the scene where Mike Ryerson & Matt Burke meet in the bar was incredible. Really really creepy. The Glick boy reaching for the blood bag, brilliant. Straker abduction - harrowing & nasty. Yes it’s rushed, but I don’t think this is really getting the credit it deserves. I love the 1979 version more than everyone but I don’t want to see them mimic it, I wanted a new take. And this delivers for me. If not perfect,but it’s too good for a movie shelved for 2 years that goes straight to streaming!!
I think your review is fair and in my opinion spot on. It stands alone as a fun vampire movie not to be compared to the 79 version which is fantastic. I saw it when originally aired and it was pretty creepy and scary fun. David Soul, Bonnie Bedelia , James Mason, and the rest just made it timelessly iconic. . But I liked the new one ok and as you said, its fun to watch. Seen it 3 times, bout to watch it again.
58 year old lifelong horror fan here. I'm of a mind Dauberman did his best in truncating King's lengthy tome. The major events feature in this two hour version although it does rattle along at a dizzying pace. the film has received a lot of criticism for its lack of character development and back story but, again, this is a two hour feature. I enjoyed it immensely. Haters be damned!
Hey Mike, a fantastic review, with a precise viewpoint! IMHO; The opening 'fly-over' of the map was a very clever idea, I loved it! The blood soaking into the map, tracing Mr Barlow's journey, was beautifully done! Salem's Lot 2024, was very well filmed, with the time-period being meticulously presented... Though, a slightly lighter-touch here wouldn't have hurt at all! I thought David Soul's Ben Mears in the original tv mini-series, was delivered perfectly, and would be a tough-act to follow... Lewis Pullman did a wonderful-job, and he won me over very early-on! The story was great, and for the most-part, was well paced. Mr Barlow was fantastic! Mr Straker was not!! In 1979, James Mason was a Hollywood legend, and gave a buttery-smooth, commanding performance as Mr Straker! The role of Mr Straker here, needed a more 'heavy-weight' actor... Instead, we got Pilou Asbæk! Who was obviously chosen because of his stint on Game of Thrones, a fairly charismatic chap, but devoid of any real gravitas for me! But hey, a crowd-pleaser! During the opening credit-sequence, we see mentioned 'Jerusalem's Lot', (the title of King's later 1978 novella, which served as a prequel to his 1975's Salem's Lot), which just felt incongruous! It wrongly assumed, viewers had an intimate knowledge of King's back-catalogue and the fictional geography of Maine! An elitist but pointless effort, of trying to impress! It just muddied -the-waters here! Back in 1979, we had only a few tv channels to pick-from... A mini-series like Salem's Lot was 'Event Viewing'! There is nothing on tv today, that feels anywhere like 'event' viewing as-much-as 79's Salem's Lot! That's why old farts like me, remember those times with so-much affection! Younger people, correctly think, we offer an unfair comparison to any original works... I completely agree!!! This adaptation, sits exactly where I expected it-to... Fairly forgettable! Unlike the 1979 adaptation, people 'Will Not' be still-talking about this in 40 years' time!
Not good…. Not at all. Very disappointing. They changed too much of the story and swapped character aspects. No where close to the 1979 version. (3 out of 10)
I enjoyed it. Big fan of the book and Tobe Hooper mini series. I agree it was rushed. I know Dauberman filmed young Ben visiting the house and seeing the ghost of Hubie Marston. I think the extra hour that was cut would raise this greatly. I can tell from some of the scenes that they weren't phoning it in but I believe studio interference has damaged its impact. Certainly a lot of fun and the vampires were nasty. In reality Salem's Lot deserves the kind of screen time given to Midnight Mass which in itself was a reimagining of Salem's Lot.
