The Stephen King film adaptation “Salem’s Lot” has now celebrated its film premiere. While critics are divided, the opinion of viewers is clear.
The scary season has begun – and what would a scary scary season be without the works of Stephen King? That’s why the latest King film adaptation with “Salem’s Lot” reaches us just in time for Halloween, which is based on King’s vampire novel “Salem Must Burn”. While the film will be released in the USA on October 3, 2024 on the US streaming provider Max, the film will be released in cinemas here on October 31, 2024.
“Salem’s Lot” celebrated its world premiere at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles. There are currently nine critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Five people gave the film positive reviews, such as this one from Bill Bria of Discussing Film:
“‘Salem’s Lot’ is far better than some Stephen King fans might expect, thanks to the great fun the film has with the original material.”
However, the four other critics’ opinions so far have been somewhat more negative, such as the following from Courtney Howard of Fresh Fiction:
“Not silly enough to be considered kitsch, and not serious enough to be a lasting scare. ‘Salem’s Lot’ doesn’t live up to its potential and leaves a lot to be desired.”
Viewers, on the other hand, are noticeably more in agreement about the film: most of the reactions on X (formerly Twitter) were predominantly positive.
This trailer gives you a first insight into “Salem’s Lot”:
This is what viewers say about “Salem’s Lot”
Some of the social media reactions to “Salem’s Lot” are as follows:
“I absolutely loved the new ‘Salem’s Lot.’ Really good entertainment, some great scares and some iconic images made for a new generation. I watched it twice in one weekend, I liked it that much. So good!”
“’Salem’s Lot’ is absolute vampire fun that deserves a big theatrical release. The film is super exciting, beautifully shot and incredibly entertaining. It perfectly combines modern horror stories with classic filmmaking and sensitivity. Despite some flaws and characters that could have been fleshed out more, the end result is a great experience. A film destined to become a classic of the fall season.”
“’Salem’s Lot’ scared the crap out of me. I became very frightened. The scariest vampire movie I’ve seen in years. It lacked substantial character development, but the thrills were effective. Much scarier than the previous film adaptation. ‘Salem’s Lot’ is the stuff nightmares are made of.”
“Listen! I had a great time with ‘Salem’s Lot’! It’s terrifying with a tense atmosphere, effective jump scares and a slow pace that gets in your teeth as soon as it starts! Warner Bros… Why is this film direct [als Stream] published by Max?!”
“’Salem’s Lot’ is a decent vampire film with a few flaws. [Regisseur] Gary Dauberman delivers a spooky, well-paced, beautifully shot, ‘Conjuring’-esque atmosphere. [Hauptdarsteller] Lewis Pullman and the entire cast deliver good performances, but the fascinating framework of the story is a little wasted. Barlow’s overexposure does the film a disservice. It’s not a terrible Stephen King adaptation, but I’ve seen better.”
“’Salem’s Lot’ is the best film adaptation of the Stephen King novel to date. Written and directed by Gary Dauberman, King’s story and dark atmosphere are easily captured, with some outstanding jump scares. The cinematography is great, with a truly eerie shot and Lewis Pullman is great as Ben Mears. The perfect horror film for the Halloween season!”
How well do you know Stephen King adaptations? Test your knowledge with this quiz:
Horror quiz: How well do you know Stephen King and his works?
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