Sartaj Singh
Directed by Gary Dauberman, Max’s ‘Salem’s Lot’ narrates the story of a writer returning to the quiet country town of Jerusalem’s Lot and facing an ancient evil threatening the lives of everyone in it. Ben Mears travels to his hometown to write a book on the Marsten House, a desolate property that has haunted his nightmares since his ghastly experiences there as a child. At the same time, a vampire begins turning the townsfolk into undead, creating a terrifying horde of night creatures that attack those who remain. The film is reminiscent of gothic, old-school horror, with the vampires abiding by certain rules and having familiar weaknesses.
Salem’s Lot is Based on Stephen King’s Sophomore Novel
Max’s ‘Salem’s Lot’ is an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel of the same name by Gary Dauberman. While the writer-director was dedicated to rendering a largely faithful portrayal of the beloved horror novelist’s work, the film format forced him to make certain subtractions while infusing many ideas of his own into the movie. While he did take past adaptations of the novel into consideration, the creative says he did not adopt any direct inspiration from them for his storyline and characters.
Stephen King was inspired to write ‘Salem’s Lot’ upon reading Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ as he taught it in a high school class. Having grown up in small-town Maine, he imagined what would happen if a figure like Dracula arrived in a modern, rural town in the U.S. He recognized the insular nature of such towns, where everyone knows each other’s secrets, but there is also a deep sense of denial when something goes wrong. When it came to depicting the creepy atmosphere of Jerusalem’s Lot, Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Haunting of Hill House‘ also became an influence.
However, for the Max adaptation, writer-director Dauberman had the difficult job of choosing which parts of the voluminous book to include and what sequences to drop. The novel is populated with a cornucopia of interesting characters and backstories. Some characters and story arcs had scenes filmed by the director that didn’t end up making the final cut. Over an hour of footage had to be axed from the rough draft due to the limited screen time inherent in a film format.
Salem’s Lot Honors as well as Revamps the Source Material
Gary Dauberman’s ‘Salem’s Lot’ adaptation carefully balances respecting the legacy of Stephen King’s novel while also bringing some different elements to the story. For instance, Barlow’s character was influenced by the 1979 TV adaptation of ‘Salem’s Lot,’ even though it was very different from the book. The show’s Barlow leaned more towards monster horror than the gothic horror of ‘Dracula,’ but became an iconic figure associated with ‘Salem’s Lot.’ Dauberman chose to go with the ‘79 version of Barlow, given his own love for James Mason’s performance. Another part of the ‘79 show that haunted audiences for years was the appearance of the transformed vampire Danny outside Mark’s window, unnervingly asking to be let inside. The scene has been recreated in Dauberman’s adaptation to terrifying effect.
A noticeable change for long-time fans is the decision to portray Dr. Cody as a woman, departing from the character’s male role in the novel and previous adaptations. Although the storyline of the doctor doesn’t deviate too much from the source, Alfre Woodard, who portrays Dr. Cody in the Max installment, considers it an evolution. “Thinking back to 1975, that was the first time when people started to really talk about women doctors in different ways,” said Woodard in an interview. “I love the fact that we’re in 1975, and this woman doctor figures so highly now.” The settings of the drive-in theaters seen in the film are also an invention of Dauberman, inspired by his personal love for them.
Dauberman envisioned the large gathering of people as an ideal setting for a pivotal attack sequence, adding a unique and suspenseful element of his own to the story. When it came to the weaknesses and rules of the vampires, he largely stuck to the original but made a visually dynamic change with how the cross affected them. Thinking back to the color of God’s light being mentioned as part of the cross in the eponymous source material, Dauberman created a glow exuding from the cross in the hands of believers, depicting the power of faith in a more dramatic manner.
Thus, while penning the screenplay for Max’s ‘Salem’s Lot,’ the writer-director employed some changes and cuts from the original novel. He drew on his deep appreciation for both the source material and the genre to make creative decisions, aiming to balance the essence of Stephen King’s work while incorporating elements from the 1979 adaptation and his own ideas.
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