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Salem's Lot

Play trailer 2:29 Poster for Salem's Lot R 2024 1h 54m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
45% Tomatometer 102 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.
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Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot

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Critics Consensus

An old-fashioned spookfest, this Salem's Lot won't be the definitive adaptation of Stephen King's famed vampire tale but it makes for a passable reintroduction to a new generation.

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Critics Reviews

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Jacob Oller AV Club Salem’s Lot rises after years in the dark, a vampire tale with no heart and no stakes. Rated: D+ Oct 25, 2024 Full Review Chris Hewitt (UK) Empire Magazine By no means the disaster many might have expected following its years-long delay. You’ll like it. Not a lot, but you’ll like it. Rated: 3/5 Oct 15, 2024 Full Review Wendy Ide Observer (UK) No underlying meaning, no knotty themes to unpick. For audiences who have come to expect a little more intellectual bite from their vampire flicks, this is pallid, bloodless stuff. Rated: 2/5 Oct 14, 2024 Full Review Rebecca Sayce The People's Movies Despite all of its promise, Salem’s Lot is a shell of King’s acclaimed novel, encapsulating none of the terror or devastation of the vampire tale and instead falling flat on every level. Rated: 2/5 Jul 24, 2025 Full Review Jeremy Aspinall Radio Times Dauberman retains the book's 1970s milieu yet does little to flesh out the characters or build any palpable tension before revealing the chilling evil about to suck the life from the community. Rated: 2/5 Feb 11, 2025 Full Review Jorge Loser Espinof This new adaptation [of Stephen King’s novel] is imperfect, incomplete, but more than consistent with the original work and the tradition of vampire cinema it inspired…[Full review in Spanish] Rated: 4/5 Jan 6, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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E L This is a fun movie if you don't like being scared too much. The cinematography is pretty and each scene has a comic book style aesthetic which I like quite a bit along with the spooky old Victorian era houses. The acting has it's cheesy moments but overall it's passable. The storyline was put on fast forward for the entire movie. I thought it was funny when the new kid in town goes from suspecting his friend is a vampire to he has to kill Barlow within two scenes of each other. I was thinking, hang on, how does he know about the new vampire in town haha. People are thrust together into fast relationships that are not very believable. Any good horror builds tension before the horror begins and this movie doesn't even try. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/04/25 Full Review Hugo S 1975. Seeking inspiration for his next creation, an author returns to his childhood town - Salem's Lot. The small community goes into chaos when an ancient vampire decides to reap the souls of every single inhabitant. Based on Stephen King's novel, the movie sets the right tone in terms of atmosphere, but it fails to engage the viewer with its frail suspense. While the film succeeds in its commitment to delivering stunning visuals, the plot falls into a territory that feels too familiar and outdated. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/22/25 Full Review Gregory M I’ve watched this movie repeatedly to see if my view of it would change. I kept an open mind, trying not to compare it to the previous iterations, just thinking of the novel. I went as far as to view it as if this was an original story with no previous references. And my conclusion hasn’t changed: this was a bad film. With a cast of great actors wasted on this garbled adaptation. Maybe too much was left on the cutting room floor, but this is probably the last film that will be attempted of the novel. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/17/25 Full Review Nick K The original adaptation of King's novel was (and remains) one of the most creepy and terrifying horror movies. This 2024 version falls flat in almost every way. It doesn't take long enough building up the tension. The Matt Burke character leaps to the conclusion about vampires in no time at all. Lewis Pullman is not compelling enough in the lead and indeed, any nuance from the book about Ben Mear returning to the Lot to exorcise the ghosts of his past are almost completely omitted. The film does manage some scary moments in the second half, not least the vampires perched on the roofs of buildings. But it is too little too late. The ending sequence in the drive-in is utterly preposterous and the playout music is jarring and tonally off. It's disappointing that, with such rich source material, this film fails to deliver. Considering the success of 'Midnight Mass' it could be argued that this would have worked far better as a limited TV series. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/13/25 Full Review ELB E There is absolutely nothing interesting about this movie, let alone scary. The direction is lifeless, the performances are tepid. Even the score sounds phoned in by a distracted caller. Only two good things I can say about this: 1) 'Sundown' by Gordon Lightfoot is a good vampire movie song 2) Alfre Woodard looks great! Everything else: so much meh. If you want a truly interesting vampire flick, watch 'Only Lovers Left Alive' or 'Thirst' (Chanwook Park.) This mess should be forgotten. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/11/25 Full Review donna w Bloody awful ! That’s my review Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/08/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Salem's Lot

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Movie Info

Synopsis Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.
Director
Gary Dauberman
Producer
James Wan, Michael Clear, Roy Lee, Mark Wolper
Screenwriter
Gary Dauberman
Distributor
Max
Production Co
New Line Cinema, Vertigo Entertainment, Atomic Monster
Rating
R (Bloody Violence and Language)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 3, 2024
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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