Shadows on the Wall | Salem's Lot

Salem’s Lot

dir-scr Gary Dauberman
prd James Wan, Michael Clear, Roy Lee, Mark Wolper
with Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Bill Camp, Pilou Asbaek, Jordan Preston Carter, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Treat Clark, William Sadler, Debra Christofferson, Alexander Ward
release US 4.Oct.24,
UK 11.Oct.24
24/US New Line 1h53

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leigh, pullman, woodad, clark and hickey

One of Stephen King's most memorable novels gets yet another adaptation, this time as a horror romp playing on jump scares and creepy imagery rather than the 1975 book's beefier ideas. At least some depth of character allows the strong cast to sell the more ridiculous sequences. But an over-serious tone and a steady stream of cliches undermine the story's inventive community-thriller angle, making the film feel somewhat by-the-books.

In 1975 New England, a sinister mansion towers above the small town Jerusalem's Lot, as author Ben (Pullman) returns to find some answers from his childhood. As he looks for a place to live, he quickly connects with aspiring estate agent Susan (Leigh). The mansion's new owner RT (Asbaek) opens an antiques shop, but spends much of his time serving his voracious master (Ward). Meanwhile, townsfolk are vanishing then reappearing as blood-hungry killers, so Ben and Susan team up with teacher Mathew (Camp), doctor Cody (Woodard) and Father Callahan (Hickey) to fend them off.

Kids in the local school, led by the sparky Mark (Carter), have their own Stranger Things-like subplot, which gives the film a nice counterpoint before it dovetails into the rather rushed adult thread. While there are plenty of genuinely freaky situations, Dauberman relies heavily on rather simplistic scary movie gimmicks, most notably the vampires' shiny eyes or the way they can only be repelled by glowing crucifixes. These kinds of unoriginal designs look cool but leave the movie feeling rather silly.

The actors do what they can to add personality and motivation to characters who have been stripped down to their simplest facets. Pullman and Woodard have the strongest roles here, and find moments of raw humanity in between the scenes of outrageous carnage. And Carter has terrific presence on-screen, definitely a young actor to watch. But the body count is very high, so most cast members aren't around for long.

There are plenty of opportunities in the premise to play with pointed themes, but Dauberman prefers to keep things jittery and heightened. Some of the smaller touches are effective at adding a chill here and there, and mixed in among the hackneyed visuals there are some strongly eye-catching ones. But that only makes us wish that the filmmakers had relied more on original ideas than tired B-movie traditions.

themes, language, violence 4.Oct.24

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