43/50
The author returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to find that a bloodthirsty vampire is attacking the townspeople. Writer Gary Dauberman told Den of Geek in June 2019 that his goal with the new version of Salem’s Lot is to make vampires scary again. He wants to get rid of the sexier, more romanticized undead that have plagued pop culture for much of the past quarter century, thanks to everything from Interview with the Vampire to Twilight and The Vampire Diaries. The film takes place at the end of the 1970s, like the book. Mark’s night light is a Batman night light with the 1989 Batman logo. Correction: the story is set in 1975. The style of Mark’s Batman light is similar to the 1989 style, but Batman toys from 1974 show that the same style was also in use in 1975. Sources Trog (1970). Sundown written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot courtesy of Warner Records. Under the deal, Warner Music Group Film & TV licenses. This new adaptation of Stephen King’s classic ”Salem’s Lot” is a missed opportunity. It is now known that this film fell victim to studio interference from both WB and the producer. James Wan. The result is a mediocre, bland and lifeless product. King’s strength has always been his focus on the human element – the characters and how their relationships affect the story and give the emotional core to his stories. It doesn’t exist here. Based on the information that remains, it seems that director Dauberman had an idea of how to tell the story and stay true to the source material. His directorial approach is simple, almost naive, but in a story like this it could have worked. However, all semblances of life have been sucked away (probably in the operating room), leaving behind what I call a ”non-film”. The pace is so brisk that it becomes annoying, making it impossible to care about the one-dimensional characters who are more narrative devices than real people. The visual style doesn’t help either, because it reminds. The visually slick, sterilized horror of The Conjuring franchise, aimed at the masses. A few character-driven moments seem shot for efficiency, with the most basic framing, blocking, and composition, rather than trying to convey any real emotion. Alfre Woodard (Dr. Cody) delivers a performance that is a cut above the rest. . Makenzie Leigh (Susan), John Benjamin Hickey (Father Callahan) and Lewis Pullman (Ben Mears) – in that order – do their best with the material. The Younger Actors are doing well, but everyone else… not so much. A couple of performances are even laughably bad. If the characters look one-dimensional despite the actors' At best, it feels fitting that the main antagonist can’t even be described as such. His only noticeable trait seems to be ”Bleaarrggghh” before feeding on his next victim. There’s virtually no blood or gore, and most of the violence happens off-camera. The score and sound design are serviceable but far from memorable, doing little to add to the story’s non-existent emotional impact. After nearly two hours of nothingness, the film devolves into a dull, nonsensical, meaningless ”action-packed” finale (keep an eye out for the sun moving at the same speed as the plot). The sequence is topped off with sub-par CGI and one of the most anticlimactic endings I can remember. The production values are clearly there, though. would ever become a masterpiece, there was an opportunity to make an emotionally resonant film about a small American town’s fear of ”outsiders”. What remains is a big, bloated dose of nothing. The final season of ”What We Do in the Shadows” is one of the biggest this month TV and streaming premieres. See more in our October calendar!