Warner Bros. and New Line's elusive remake (or re-adaptation) of Stephen King's Salem's Lot is coming to the Max streaming service next month just in time for Halloween, and we finally have our first look at some official footage thanks to EW.
In this extended clip, we see protagonists Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) and Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh) join fellow vampire-hunters Doctor Cody (Alfre Woodard), Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter) and Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey) for a tense visit to the Marsten House, where they discover a dead body (if you've read the book, you'll have a pretty good idea who it is).
When Ben shines his torch under the stairs, the scene cuts to the group making their way into the basement, where things start to get very creepy indeed.
It's unusual for a clip to be released before a trailer, but we've been informed that a proper teaser is imminent. For now, check out the footage below and let us know what you think in the comments section.
"Salem's Lot is such a special book because there's a lot of macro sociopolitical themes in there. It's not just a horror book," Pullman says of this latest take on the story. "How Gary approached it was almost like, this is not a horror movie. This is a movie about a small town in America where something horrific happens. He was trying to also rekindle the fire of mystique about vampires. They've shifted in many different ways over the last couple of decades in terms of pop culture. I think Gary really wanted to return back to this very mysterious, almost mythological lens on them."
Last year, we got word that Warner Bros. had pushed Salem's Lot back to April 21, 2023 after previously planning to release it on September 9, 2022 Since then, the movie appeared to be removed from the schedule altogether, and there were concerns that it may be shelved following David Zaslav's decision to write off the Batgirl movie.
Then, back in March, New Line confirmed the rumor that the vampire horror film will skip theaters altogether and debut on the Max streaming service. Previous trade reports have noted that this "is not a reflection of the film’s quality, but is due to the fact that the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has created a growing need for Max content."
The movie also stars Bill Camp and Spencer Treat Clark. Recent IT adaptation writer Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home) directs, and also penned the screenplay.
King's novel tells the story of a writer named Ben Mears who returns to his childhood town of Jerusalem's Lot, only to find himself drawn to an old house that traumatized him as a child. The Marsten House is an evil place, and an evil place attracts evil men. Unfortunately for Ben and the rest of the town, this time the evil men in question are powerful vampire Kurt Barlow and his devious familiar Richard Straker.
Are you looking forward to a new take on Salem's Lot? Be sure to drop us a comment down below.