24/29
Writer Gary Dauberman told Den of Geek in June 2019 that his goal with the new version of Salem’s Lot is to make vampires scary again
Scenario
An author returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover that the town’s residents have been attacked by a bloodthirsty vampire. He wants to move away from the sexier, more romanticized undead that have plagued pop culture for much of the last quarter century, thanks to everything from Interview with a Vampire to Twilight to The Vampire Diaries. When Ben reads old newspapers on microfilm at the library, one headline reads “Local Couple Victims of Drunk Driving.” The paper was supposedly printed in 1956, at a time when the term “drunk driving” wasn’t yet in use.
Well, it was disappointing
References Trog (1970). SundownWritten and performed by Gordon LightfootCourtesy of Warner RecordsBy arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing. Having read the novel several times and watched the 1979 TV series several times over the years, I was really looking forward to seeing this.
A lot of liberties are also taken with the plot, some for no clear reason, it seems
I realize it’s asking too much to have to cram the book into a two-hour movie, a lot of history and character background had to be sacrificed. All of our main characters are there, some visibly altered to fit 21st century norms, but not well developed. I guess if you’ve never read the book, you wouldn’t know what you’re missing.
Not at all
But the most excruciating thing about this movie is simple: if you’re even a fan of horror movies, it’s not scary. Check it out if you like, but the broth in this soup is pretty thin. The final season of "What We Do in the Shadows" is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres this month.