Salem’s Lot: Stephen King fans disagree over new adaptation after it’s shunted onto streaming

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Washington Bureau Chief

Stephen King fans are in disagreement over the new adaptation of one of his best-loved works.

It’s been a big month for King adaptations, with Mike Flanagan’s version of novella The Life of Chuck being called “one of the good ones” by the author himself. Now, a new screen translation of vampire chiller 'Salem's Lot, published in 1975 and turned into a miniseries in 1979, has arrived.

Directed by the Annabelle franchise’s Gary Dauberman, this adaptation, starring Lewis Pullman, Pilou Asbæk and Alfre Woodard, has been sat on Warner Bros’ shelf for years, with the studio originally prepping it for a cinema release.

However, instead of getting a big screen showing, the film has now been shunted onto HBO streaming service Max.

This has frustrated many who have seen the film – some of who saw it with a crowd for a special advanced screening at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles.

“Very happy to report SALEM’S LOT is a fun crowd-pleaser with a banger of a third act that tore the ROOF off Beyond Fest’s opening night, @JoeRussoTweets shared on X/Twitter, adding that bosses “left money on the table by sending this straight to Max”.

@HunterbBVideo wrote: “Long story short, the new Salem’s Lot is excellent and we all should watch it. Even though WBD should have released it in theatres,” while @@BlackMajikMan90 called the film “an absolute vampire romp that deserved a wide theatrical release”.

In agreement was @joshwoodbury, who said the film “deserves to be seen with a crowd” and said the fact it’s going straight to streaming is “a TRAVESTY”.

However, there were those who were less complimentary of the films. with @AlexZalben stating: “Sorry to say the new Salem’s Lot is a big miss for me. Unfortunately you can see why it sat on the shelf so long.”

Journalist Courtney Howard posted: “Without satisfying scares, proper character development and fun entertainment value, the new #SalemsLot adaptation is BAD – like astoundingly so.”

Meanwhile, @KjellRules wrote: “Finally saw Salem’s Lot remake – very strange if you’re used to the slow burn New England original, or the book which is the scariest I ever read. I guess 2024 means add humour to everything? Crowd seemed to like it just felt like a weird cover song to me.”

It’s currently unknown when Salem’s Lot will arrive in the UK.