Salem's Lot
Movie, 2024, The 2020s, Set in Jerusalem's Lot, 1975
Salem's Lot is #35 of 42 in release order and #19 of 42 in chronological order in the Stephen King Universe.
The story
Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.
Salem's Lot recap
Salem's Lot (2024) retells King's vampire novel: a writer returns to Jerusalem's Lot, Maine, in 1975 as an ancient vampire takes over the town. Gary Dauberman writes and directs, released on Max, with Lewis Pullman as Ben Mears. Ben, a novelist who spent part of his childhood in the town, comes back to write about it and falls for local artist Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh). Antiques dealer Richard Straker (Alexander Ward) opens a shop and takes delivery of a crate for his partner, Kurt Barlow (Pilou Asbaek), who stays hidden in the Marsten House. Young Ralphie Glick disappears, his brother Danny dies, and the dead start rising and calling at windows. Ben gathers allies: schoolteacher Matthew Burke (Bill Camp), Dr. Marjorie Cody (Alfre Woodard), Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey) and Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter), a boy who knows his monster lore. Barlow shakes Callahan's faith and kills him, and most of the town turns.
Salem's Lot ending explained
Salem's Lot ends with Barlow staked and Ben and Mark driving away from a dead town. The town's vampires hide in their cars at the drive-in theater, and the survivors turn the daylight against them. Barlow stalks Mark in a basement, and Ben drives a stake through his mouth. Susan has been turned, and Ben kills her. In the novel, Ben and Mark flee and must return to the Lot later to fight what remains, a more open ending than the film's.
Where to watch Salem's Lot
Salem's Lot is streaming on HBO Max in the US.
Ratings
IMDb 5.6/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, before The Monkey.
- Chronological order: after The Outsider, before The Monkey.
What to watch before Salem's Lot
In release order, 18 Stephen King Universe essentials come before Salem's Lot (2024), from Carrie (1976) to The Outsider (2020).
Cast
- Lewis Pullman as Ben Mears
- Makenzie Leigh as Susan Norton
- Jordan Preston Carter as Mark Petrie
- Alfre Woodard as Dr. Cody
- Bill Camp as Matt Burke
- John Benjamin Hickey as Father Callahan
- Nicholas Crovetti as Danny Glick
- Spencer Treat Clark as Mike Ryerson
- Pilou Asbæk as R.T Straker
- Alexander Ward as Kurt Barlow
- Danielle Perry as Marjorie Glick
- Debra Christofferson as Ann Norton
Directed by Gary Dauberman.