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There are few novels ye olde scribbler of pop culture words loves more dearly than author Stephen King’s 1975 ode to vampires, ‘Salem’s Lot. At least once a year I’ll pull out my beat-up old hardback first edition of the book from my office bookshelf to give it a fresh read and I never walk away disappointed with this story. For anyone that’s not checked out a library or bookstore in the last forty plus years, ‘Salem’s Lot tells the story of a writer called Ben Mears who returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in Maine to write his next novel only to discover that the Norman Rockwell-like burg has been transformed into an open-buffet for vampire Kurt Barlow. Twilight or Interview with the Vampire it ain’t, and praise be to the Horror Gods for that. The vampires in King’s ‘Salem’s Lot are as brutal and evil as Mears and his small band of fellow vampire killers which he assembles are decent and kind. If you’ll pardon the expression, the stakes are high indeed in this taut and white-knuckle tale.
Two television adaptations (and a standalone sequel entitled A Return to ‘Salem’s Lot, plus a notable cameo in the now defunct TV series Castle Rock) have appeared over the ensuing years, both of which have their loyal contingent of fans. Yet for some of us King purist’s, both of those TV miniseries have missed the full mark in successfully translating the original ‘Salem’s Lot to the screen. Which brings us up to the Here and Now…
A new version of ‘Salem’s Lot directed by It co-screenwriter Gary Dauberman is set to haunt cinemas in September of 2022 with an all-star cast which includes the likes of Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), Spencer Treat Clark (Unbreakable) and Makenzie Leigh (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk). With that level of talent and the name recognition of King and his sophomore novel, you’d think that the Hollywood publicity machine would be in full force by now, but all has been very quiet…until now.
From our pals over at Bloody Disgusting comes the news of the very first image from 2022’s ‘Salem’s Lot finally making its long-awaited appearance. Appropriately enough, that inaugural photo from the set is making its debut not on the cover of one of the few remaining film magazines out there, but rather on the front cover of a newly released edition of Stephen King’s original novel which is explicitly stumping for the new film as an official movie tie-in.
And what an image it is: Surrounded by an early twilight mist are the heroes of ‘Salem’s Lot – Ben Mears, Susan Norton, Mark Petrie, Doctor Cody and Father Callahan (minus de facto Van Helsing stand-in Matt Burke). All of them are silhouetted against the coming nighttime sky and looking up at the dreaded lair of the vampire, the infamous Marsten House; chilling stuff and more than enough to whet the appetite of any self-respecting horror aficionado.
So it’s not a trailer, but a picture is worth a thousand words (or, according to the word-count on this article, more like six hundred) and it’s enough right now at least for this longtime fan.
Keep your fangs tuned into Vents for any and all updates on the forthcoming September 9 release of ‘Salem’s Lot!
