17/11
The author returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to find the town’s residents under attack by a bloodthirsty vampire. Writer Gary Dauberman told Den of Geek in June 2019 that his goal with the new Salem’s Lot is to make vampires scary again. He wants to move away from the sexier, more romanticized undead that have infecting popular culture for much of the last quarter-century, in everything from Interview with the Vampire to Twilight to The Vampire Diaries . The film, like the book, is set in the late 1970s. Mark’s night light is Batman’s night light using the 1989 Batman logo. Correction: the story takes place in 1975. The style of Mark’s Batman night light is similar to the 1989 style, but Batman toys from 1974 show that the same style was also used in 1975. References Trog (1970). Sundown Written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot Courtesy of Warner Records With permission of Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing. This new adaptation of the Stephen King classic, Salem’s Lot, is a wasted opportunity. It is now known that the film fell victim to studio interference, both on the part of WB and producer James Wan. The result is a mediocre, bland and lifeless product. King’s strength has always been his focus on the human element – the characters and how their relationships affect the narrative and provide the emotional core of his stories. None of that exists here. It seems, from what remains, that director Dauberman had an idea of how to tell a story while remaining faithful to the source material. His directorial approach is simple, almost naive, but for a story like this it could work. However, any resemblance to life has been sucked out (probably in the editing room), leaving what I would call a “non-film.” The pacing is so fast that it becomes annoying, making it impossible to care about the one-dimensional characters who exist more as narrative devices than as real people. The visual style doesn’t help either, as it resembles The Conjuring series – visually slick, sterilized horror aimed at the masses. The few character-focused moments feel lacking in terms of performance, with the most basic framing, blocking, and composition rather than any attempt to convey real emotion. Alfre Woodard (Dr. Cody) delivers a performance that’s a class above the rest. Makenzie Leigh (Susan), John Benjamin Hickey (Father Callahan), and Lewis Pullman (Ben Mears) – in that order – do what they can with the material. The younger actors are okay, but everyone else… not so much. A few performances are laughably bad. When the characters come off as one-dimensional despite the actors’ best efforts, it seems fitting that the main antagonist can’t even be described as such. His only noticeable characteristic seems to be saying “Bleaarrggghh” before feasting on his next victim. There’s virtually no blood or guts, and most of the violence occurs off-camera. The music and sound design are serviceable but far from memorable, doing little to enhance the story’s nonexistent emotional impact. After nearly two hours of nothingness, the film devolves into a boring, pointless, and meaningless “action-packed” finale (note the sun moving at plot-appropriate speeds). The sequence is capped off by below-average CGI and one of the most disappointing endings I can remember. However, the production values are clearly there. Even if it was never going to be a masterpiece, there was a chance to create a film with a strong emotional impact that tackled the timely topic of small-town America’s fear of the “outsider.” Unfortunately, what we’re left with is a solid, bloated serving of nothing. The final season of What We Do in the Shadows is one of the biggest TV and streaming releases this month. Check out our October calendar to find out more!