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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

Tale

An author returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover that the townspeople are being attacked by a bloodthirsty vampire. He wants to move away from the more sensual, romanticized undead that have plagued pop culture for much of the last quarter century, thanks to everything from Interview with the Vampire to Twilight to The Vampire Diaries. When Ben is reading old newspapers on microfilm in the library, a headline reads “Local Couple Victims of DUI.” The newspaper was supposedly printed in 1956, at a time when the term “DUI” was not yet in use.

The developing love affair

References Trog (1970). Sundown Written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot Courtesy of Warner Records By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing. What makes the book a masterpiece is the slow burn.

All of that is gone

The vignettes of strange things happening around town. The eventual reunion of a gang of misfit heroes who come together in perfect King style. The pacing is largely disjointed.

But unfortunately, this adaptation is disfigured

Characters jump to conclusions (the right ones, always) without thinking twice. It’s hard to love any of the characters because they all lack the depth needed to move the story forward. There are some truly incredible moments here and some small sparks of genius.

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