I’ve watched all of the Salem’s Lot films, which includes the original 1979 one, the crappy “sequel”, A Return to Salem’s Lot, the 2004 one that featured Rob Lowe (who plays the main character, Ben), and now finally the 2024 one. Excluding the sequel, all 3 movies are practically the same, with very few differences in the plot and storytelling. This introduces the issue of trying to reinvent the wheel, so how exactly do the newer versions set themselves apart? The Rob Lowe rendition has the edge of being made in the 21st century, so it feels much more modern, in both style and visual effects. As the main character, Ben, is a writer, the 2004 version did an excellent job having Ben narrate the movie as if he were telling a story or writing a book. How about the 2024 version? For the most part, I think it had the element of being overhyped. It also featured more than one black person (there’s only one black character in the 2004). Its redeeming qualities are the deaths, as all of them are quite gruesome, and the vampires’ glowing eyes fading upon death was a nice touch. The crosses also glow when someone of enough “faith” is in proximity to a vampire; cool.
Sadly, that’s it. The ending is always the same: Ben loses his girlfriend, kill the master, vampires no more, and two survivors. They could’ve at least had some gay vampires! But at the end of the way, what makes Salem’s Lot unique is the intertwining of religion and vampires. Salem’s Lot is probably the only time I’ve seen crosses and holy water be used to deter, and destroy vampires, as well as holy ground (the church) to serve as a permanent “you’re not invited” to vampires. If these vampires react to holy religious symbols/objects, then it must mean they have a demonic influence or a connection to the devil. I think it would be cool somehow to link Salem’s Lot to the Conjuring Universe, which would at least make expand Salem’s Lot and possibly turn it into a franchise.