Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" on Max

[etrofllenrod504]

Watched it lastnight it wasnt bad, it just felt like I was watching an episode from Goosebumps. It’s served its purpose I guess.

 

[storyteller]

Quick thoughts:
- It's fine as a modernized adaptation, but no where near the classic movie or the book.

- But I blame that on run time. The original "movie" was actually a two-part series, and that gave them a bit more time to make the town feel full or life and for the dread to wash over everything slowly. This film had to speedrun that process, which took away so much of the feeling and tension.

- That said, there are some BEAUTIFULLY shot moments in this movie. Particularly when the boys are walking through the woods, where the sunset casts a shadow over everyone. There is also a conversation at the bar with Burke where sound washes out, and the first reveal of the vampire. Plus, I really liked how they did the scene at the drive-thru with the race to escape the shadows into the sun.

- It strikes me that I might enjoy this more if I weren't so big on the original. I suggested it to my younger family members who aren't attached to the OG version, and I'm interested to hear their takes.

- It also bothers me that this feels like they aimed for a PG rating to get into theaters...had they made it for streaming, they coulda leaned into the visceral violence instead of "cut away...blood spatter" as every kill scene.

 

[Diunx]

shyt was mid as fukk, perfect for streaming tbh, this is something you watch on a lazy sunday.

 

[Clayton Endicott]

There is also a conversation at the bar with Burke where sound washes out, and the first reveal of the vampire.

I thought the lighting made that scene dope and chilling.

 

[storyteller]

I thought the lighting made that scene dope and chilling.

It's a really strong scene! Definitely one of the standouts for me.

 

[2 Up 2 Down]

https://www.reddit.com/r/stephenking/s/Ig3Nf5wSFs

That was the one scene I was hoping to see. Hopefully they release a director's cut

 

[Clayton Endicott]

It's a really strong scene! Definitely one of the standouts for me.

I don’t know if you've seen it, but it was very reminiscent of the scenes in Def By Temptation, where the lighting and ambiance of the scenes became more sinister and foreboding as the movie grew darker. For a low budget film, James Bond III did a masterful job directing that movie, and it still gives me the creeps

 

[Tommy Gibbs]

oh shyt, it's out??? I forgot about it.

 

[2 Up 2 Down]

lol I caught myself about to get mad as soon as the opening credits started.

Then, a little ways in, I realized my girl was enjoying the early parts of a story she would NEVER watch if it was anything like the book.

I just said fukk it, enjoyed it for what it was, and explained stuff when I mentioned that there were some changes from the book.

I can’t be too mad if Flanagan already let us eat with Midnight Mass lol.

My golden rule is if Stephen King is over the top with the hype, the adaption is gon be trash. If we read a little blurb about him saying he isn’t a fan, it’s gon be fie! Like the shining or Dr. Sleep.

He did say it was a slow burn so I think King saw the 3 hour cut

 

[chiefdogg]

oh shyt, it's out??? I forgot about it.

Yeah I did as well about to check it out. Just got done watching The Substance and shyt was wild from beginning to end.

 

[chiefdogg]

Watching now almost done, and this felt crazy rushed there was no character development at all.

 

[lightskin jermaine]

Mark the Demon Slayer

 

[re'up]

Quick thoughts:
- It's fine as a modernized adaptation, but no where near the classic movie or the book.

- But I blame that on run time. The original "movie" was actually a two-part series, and that gave them a bit more time to make the town feel full or life and for the dread to wash over everything slowly. This film had to speedrun that process, which took away so much of the feeling and tension.

- That said, there are some BEAUTIFULLY shot moments in this movie. Particularly when the boys are walking through the woods, where the sunset casts a shadow over everyone. There is also a conversation at the bar with Burke where sound washes out, and the first reveal of the vampire. Plus, I really liked how they did the scene at the drive-thru with the race to escape the shadows into the sun.

- It strikes me that I might enjoy this more if I weren't so big on the original. I suggested it to my younger family members who aren't attached to the OG version, and I'm interested to hear their takes.

- It also bothers me that this feels like they aimed for a PG rating to get into theaters...had they made it for streaming, they coulda leaned into the visceral violence instead of "cut away...blood spatter" as every kill scene.

The scene where Straker picks up the two kids? yeah that was excellent.

Watched about an hour last night, and was struck by the uneven direction, in the sense of like you said, beautiful shots of the fall, of the woods, whatever, and then a lot of very bland shots. Think it's digital right? a lot of the shots and the scenes had no texture, for lack of a better word. Felt very sterile. I know they can still shoot movies like this, because I see them from time to time, but mostly they look very lifeless.

Where was the crisp look? That kind of lived in feel? The opening scenes looked like a video game. It's like that James Wan camera affect.

I have memories of watching the VHS version as a kid in a big house by myself, where my Dad was staying, left me alone for way too long, and watched it by myself and was pretty spooked, afraid to leave the couch.

 

[Lootpack]

My golden rule is if Stephen King is over the top with the hype, the adaption is gon be trash. If we read a little blurb about him saying he isn’t a fan, it’s gon be fie! Like the shining or Dr. Sleep.

He truly has the Grace Randolph effect when it comes to film testimonials, lol.

 

[storyteller]

The scene where Straker picks up the two kids? yeah that was excellent.

Watched about an hour last night, and was struck by the uneven direction, in the sense of like you said, beautiful shots of the fall, of the woods, whatever, and then a lot of very bland shots. Think it's digital right? a lot of the shots and the scenes had no texture, for lack of a better word. Felt very sterile. I know they can still shoot movies like this, because I see them from time to time, but mostly they look very lifeless.

Where was the crisp look? That kind of lived in feel? The opening scenes looked like a video game. It's like that James Wan camera affect.

I have memories of watching the VHS version as a kid in a big house by myself, where my Dad was staying, left me alone for way too long, and watched it by myself and was pretty spooked, afraid to leave the couch.

Some people have mentioned there was a lot of cut content, so I wonder if a director's cut might help connect some of the dots between the really bland stuff and the really striking imagery. That's probably wishful thinking though.

I had a similar experience to yours with the original. Watched it on a dark night and couldn't sleep at all. The window scene in the original is GOAT'ed in my book.