Salem's Lot (2004)

54% of users liked it
(7,652 ratings)

In this TV adaptation of the Stephen King novel, a journalist with traumatic memories of his haunted childhood returns to find his hometown being infiltrated by vampires. As a boy in Jerusalem's Lot, ME, Ben Mears (Rob Lowe) took a dare and broke into a local mansion called the Marsten House. There,… More In this TV adaptation of the Stephen King novel, a journalist with traumatic memories of his haunted childhood returns to find his hometown being infiltrated by vampires. As a boy in Jerusalem's Lot, ME, Ben Mears (Rob Lowe) took a dare and broke into a local mansion called the Marsten House. There, he had the misfortune of discovering the corpses resulting from a scandalous murder/suicide. Decades later, he returns to find that a mysterious antiques dealer (Donald Sutherland) and his unseen business partner (Rutger Hauer) have moved into the Marsten House. Soon, townspeople begin disappearing and dying, only to return, floating outside the windows of their loved ones and begging to be let in. Only Ben and a few newfound allies suspect the awful truth: that something unholy has overtaken their town...something with links to the sinister mansion of Ben's nightmares. Originally broadcast June 20 and 21, 2004, on the TNT cable network, Salem's Lot was scripted by Peter Filardi, who previously penned The Craft and Flatliners. Shot on-location in Australia, this is the second television adaptation of Salem's Lot, and it follows Tobe Hooper's 1979 version. Hauer and Sutherland are old vampire buddies, having previously co-starred in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer film. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 3 hr. 1 min.
Directed By: Mikael Salomon
Written By: Peter Filardi
Genres: Drama, Television, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jun 2, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Oct 12, 2004

Critic Reviews

Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
Fans of the book who still had a bad taste in their mouth after the first version would be advised to give it a rental.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Better than the original. You know what? You'll actually want to sit through this one

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Brian D

I love the 1979 original it was so scary for a TV miniseries and i was only 10 when first saw it.So going into this 2004 remake or re image what ever you call it i was abit unsure about it.Well what a surprise it was excellent.The story is abit more flush out and a few more players to… More
I love the 1979 original it was so scary for a TV miniseries and i was only 10 when first saw it.So going into this 2004 remake or re image what ever you call it i was abit unsure about it.Well what a surprise it was excellent.The story is abit more flush out and a few more players to the mix.Rob Lowe was very good in the David soul part. Wouldn't say its as scary as the 1979 version but there is a few nice jumps along the way.Only real disappointment was that they used Rutgers hauer as the main vampire Barlow who was not really that scary as the 1979 version of Barlow. Don't be afraid of the 3 hrs. running time as it seem to pass quite quickly.
_kelly .

not bad for a tv miniseries
Steve B

Judging it on its own, and not comparing it to the book or the 1979 TV mini, this really isn't a bad flick -- up to the last ten minutes or so. Then it kinda blows. But for a 3hr movie, that's not a bad ratio.
Dean M

This remake TV movie is more thrilling, scary and much longer than the original.
Chad R

Not very many decent movies made from Steven King novels. This is one that does stink too much. Wait a minute, haven't seen this version yet. Need to rent.
Anthony V

Great adaptation of the book.