Stephen King’s 1975 horror novelSalem’s Lotis getting its first-ever feature film adaptation this year, at the hands of screenwriter and director Gary Dauberman. The book, which is King’s second published novel, falls under the haunted house and vampire subgenres of horror and has been adapted as a miniseries twice: first by Tobe Hooper in 1979, and then by Mikael Salomon in 2004.
The author ofCarrie,The Shining, andIt(which remains the highest-grossing horror movie of all time), Stephen King adaptations rarely miss, so of course, the buzz aroundSalem’s Lotis strong. With fans eager to know more about the movie, and its release date on the horizon, here’s what to expect from the upcoming remake.
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Plot
Salem’s Lotfollows writer Ben Mears who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot (nicknamed Salem’s Lot) after 25 years to gain inspiration for his next novel. Planning to write about the old Marsten House, which comes with adark haunted history, Mears learns the property has been purchased by business partners Kurt Barlow and Richard Straker who want to turn the place into an antique furniture store.
Barlow, an Austrian immigrant, is absent from town on an alleged buying trip, but Mears is suspicious. When he discovers the residents of Salem’s Lot arebeing turned into vampires, Mears suspects the eccentric antiques dealer is to blame and assembles a ragtag group of people to protect his hometown.
Cast
Playing Ben Mears is rising actor Lewis Pullman. Best known for his roles inThe Strangers Prey At NightandBad Times at the El Royale, Pullman recently starred inTop Gun: Maverick, as supporting character Bob, and Amazon Prime’s neo-Western sci-fi seriesOuter Range, as Josh Brolin’s on-screen son, Rhett Abbott. Taking the lead inSalem’s Lot, it’s likely this will be Pullman’s breakout role. Makenzie Leigh joins Pullman as Ben’s love interest, Susan Norton. A relatively unknown actress — her biggest acting role so far is as Faison inBilly Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk — Salem’s Lotholds a lot of promise for Leigh, too.
One actor that manywillrecognise is William Sadler, who plays Barlow in the upcoming adaptation. Sadler has starred in several blockbuster movies, including theStephen King adaptationsThe Shawshank RedemptionandThe Green Mile. Other cast members include Pilou Asbæk (Ghost in the Shell,Uncharted) as Barlow’s business partner, Straker; Bill Camp (Dark Waters,The Queen’sGambit) as teacher Matthew Burke; Spencer Treat Clark (Gladiator,Glass) as resident Mike Ryerson; and Alfre Woodard (Star Trek: First Contact,12 Years a Slave) as Dr Cody.
Crew
Gary Dauberman initially signed on toSalem’s Lotas the screenwriter, however, last year it was announced he would also direct the movie. Dauberman is known for writing the following movies inThe Conjuringuniverse:Annabelle,Annabelle: Creation,The Nun, andAnnabelle Comes Home— the latter of which marks his directorial debut. Dauberman also wrote the screenplays forItandIt: Chapter 2, so this is not his first time adapting a Stephen King novel.
Dauberman will be joined by producers James Wan, Mark Wolper, Roy Lee, and others. Horror fans will recognise James Wan as the director ofInsidious,Malignant, and many ofThe Conjuringmovies. Unsurprisingly, Wan appears to be a huge fan of Stephen King; when King posted to Twitter: “I watched Malignant on HBO and thought it was brilliant,” Wanreshared the tweet to his Instagramwith the caption: “For all us genre/horror outcasts, there’s really only one person’s validation that we seek” (along with a series of crying emojis).
Release Date
Salem’s Lotwas originally scheduled to be released in theatres on September 9th, 2022 by Warner Bros. Pictures,but it was recently pushed back until July 04, 2025. The movie will also be available to stream on HBO Max 45 days after its release. Fans of King will be happy to know another adaptation of his is in the works.
Last year it was announced that Sony Pictures andBlumhouse will producea new version of King’s 1983 novelChristinethat Bryan Fuller (Hannibal,American Gods) will direct.Christinetells the story of a car possessed by demonic forces and has already been adapted as a horror movie by John Carpenter (Halloween,The Thing). Though whilstSalem’s Lotwill reportedly remain close to its source material, the remake ofChristineis expected to differ slightly.
Only recently, King’s 1980 sci-fi novelFirestarterwas made into a movie directed by Keith Thomas and starring Zac Efron.Firestarterfollows a girl with pyrokinetic abilities and her worried parents as they try to evade a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her gift. Though the book was aNew York Timesbestseller, the recent movie was a flop, with a current rating of 4.6 on IMDb and 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fortunately, there are many reasons to believeSalem’s Lotwon’t follow in its footsteps.
