Salem's Lot (2024): Review

A rushed mess that doesn't even come close to the classic 1979 version.

The story line was so badly paced that it had little character development, and it wouldn't let certain things breathe. It felt rushed, and the editing was poor, as was the script as a whole! The one scene that was really well shot, was the scene where Mr. Barlow killed Ralphie. The camera work looked great, and you felt so bad for Ralphie, despite his lack of screen time.

The acting was average. Lewis Pullman showed that he has a bright future ahead of him, as he made the most of what he had to work with. Bill Camp did a great job also, and I would venture to say that he did the best job of all the actors. Jordan Preston Carter did a decent job, but I felt he could've done a better job overall. William Sadler was a huge miscast, and I wish the rumors had been true that he was playing Barlow. Alfre Woodard was easily the worst actor in this film. She had no life in her performance at all, and it felt like she didn't even care about her performance. Pilou Asbaek did a good job as Straker, but he was so underused! Makenzie Leigh was a miscast in my opinion, and it didn't help that her character was so underdeveloped.

Another positive I have is that I thought they did a great job with the cinematography. They had a lot of really good shots, but it wasn't enough to save this movie. There were other pretty decent scenes, but the film was too rushed, and it should've been so much better. I did not like Barlow's design either, too much CGI, instead of relying on makeup and prosthetics.

If they ever decide to adapt this again, they need to make it a miniseries, and more faithful to the book. Or split the movie into 2 parts, or make it over 3 hours, because an hour and 53 minutes will not cut it with this movie! 

Out of 4 stars I would give it...

2 out of 4 stars