Salem’s Lot: Stephen King Calls Reboot “Quite Good,” Doesn’t Know Why It Hasn’t Been Released

Salem’s Lot has been in a sense of purgatory over the past two years, seeing one delay after the next amid leftover COVID-era production problems. The film itself has been completed and in the can for quite some time now, and Stephen King—the legendary horror icon who wrote the book the movie is based on—isn’t sure why movie-goers haven’t been able to see it.

“Between you and me, Twitter, I’ve seen the new SALEM’S LOT and it’s quite good,” King said Sunday in a new post on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. “Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it’s embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the f–king things.”

This hasn’t been the first time King’s lept to the defense of the Gary Dauberman picture, having said something similar later last year. “The Warner Bros remake of SALEM’S LOT, currently shelved, is muscular and involving,” King said at the time. “It has the feel of ‘Old Hollywood,’ when a film was given a chance to draw a breath before getting to business. When attention spans were longer, in other words.”

He added, “It feels like a horror movie version of slow-burn movies like THE GREAT ESCAPE. It builds very well. There are diversions from the book I don’t agree with, but on the whole, faithful. Best scene: Danny Glick in the hospital, trying to claw down a blood bag. The Glick scene could have been directed by John Carpenter in his prime.”

The film is set to star Lewis Pullman in the picture’s lead role. Other Salem’s Lot cast members that have been confirmed include Makenzie Leigh (Gotham, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk) as Susan Norton, Alfre Woodard (Marvel’s Luke Cage) as Dr. Cody, Bill Camp (Joker) as Matthew Burke, Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones) as Richard Straker, Jordan Preston Carter (DMZ) as Mark Petrie, Spencer Treat Clark (Unbreakable) as Mike Ryerson, plus John Benjamin Hickey (Gossip Girl) as Father Callahan, with Nicholas Crovetti (Big Little Lies) as Danny Glick, and Cade Woodward as Ralph Glick.

Salem’s Lot has yet to set a release date. The original two-part series can be rented wherever movies are sold.