The highly anticipated big-screen adaptation of the 1975 Stephen King novel, Salem’s Lot, is just about six months away from release. Fans of horror and King have been treated to two previous adaptations already. The first was the acclaimed 1979 Tobe Hooper made-for-TV adaptation starring David Soul and James Mason. It was followed up 25 years later in 2004 with another TV adaptation starring Rob Lowe and Donald Sutherland. Both are faithful to the source material to varying degrees. As time has passed, the former has been identified as the better of the two renditions. It has become a benchmark of made-for-TV horror and Stephen King adaptations in general.

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With this third attempt at putting the town and vampires of Jerusalem’s Lot on screen, the question of faithfulness and integrity is ever-present. Director Gary Dauberman (The Conjuring series) is in a unique position. He is no stranger to adapting King’s works to the big screens, writing on both It and It: Chapter Two. Now he has the opportunity to deliver Salem’s Lot in a fresh, unbridled way. Television limitations have led to certain story omissions.

While the previous iterations did provide the main beats of the story rather effectively, they did so within the boundaries of network TV. Dauberman can truly take the gloves off here. It is fair to say that while having less restriction doesn’t automatically make a cinematic experience better than a TV one, it enables new ground to be covered. Essentially, Dauberman and crew are allowed to play in a bigger sandbox.

The issue of time is still a notable consideration. Even though the previous adaptations came in at three hours each, both had to make many plot concessions and character combinations to capture the full scope of the story. Each still left lots of subplots on the cutting room floor.

So, what do we want to see in this new version?

Town Development

     Warner Bros. Television

Jerusalem’s Lot, the township and setting of the book and film, is a character itself. Among the 672 paperback pages, King soaks many of them with rich history and context. This essential world-building is a major component of the buy-in for the plot. The sleepy Maine town becomes a breeding ground for a hive of vampires. When protagonist Ben Mears moves back to town, it coincides with the arrival of Richard Straker and his mysterious partner Kurt Barlow. The latter pair relies on the town’s antiquity and simpleness to hatch their schemes.

Horrifying Vampires

The creatures of the night in King’s story are sentient and motivated. They are cunning and smart. But what makes them so terrifying is that they know the rest of the townspeople. These aren’t strangers from distant lands haunting the darkness. They are friends and neighbors that use trust and love to slash throats. As more and more vampires are created, the whole ecology of the town changes.

Kurt Barlow

It’s been ostensibly agreed universally that the best stories are credited as such because they have the best villains. While the 1979 version featured timeless make-up effects for the main antagonist and Count Dracula stand-in Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder), it left out the charisma and noble evil he possessed from the book. He looked more like Nosferatu than a sophisticated nobleman.

In 2004, Barlow was back to having a speaking role with Rutger Hauer filling the Barlow coffin. But he was underutilized, and his perilous grip on the town was never fully realized. Thankfully, his partner and day-man Richard Straker was portrayed with an exquisite blend of charm and creepiness by both Mason in 1979 and Sutherland in 2004.

To utter that Dauberman has his work cut out for him goes without saying. Salem’s Lot, King’s second novel ever, has had decades to build up its status as a powerful, contemporary work of vampire literature. But it is a large story. Audiences expecting a slavish by-the-numbers translation of page to screen should know better by now. A feature film can only handle so much material.

Without the restraints of its predecessors, this thrilling book can be brought to life in a way that hasn’t yet been experienced. Hopefully, focusing on the right ingredients will satisfy fans and casual moviegoers alike.

Salem’s Lot will hit cinemas on September 9, 2022.