‎Salem's Lot (2004) directed by Mikael Salomon • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Salem's Lot

2004 Directed by Mikael Salomon

In a small town, evil spreads quickly.

A dark terror has come to the picture-perfect town of Jerusalem's Lot, and it's up to a writer with a haunted past to uncover the horror that has taken over the town.

Robert Mammone Dan Byrd Christopher Morris Rob Lowe Andre Braugher Donald Sutherland Samantha Mathis Rutger Hauer James Cromwell

181 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Helen_S ★★★★½ 7

This takes a bit to get going but persevere and you will be treated to oodles of atmosphere, creepiness and tension galore, a great score and a stellar cast with Donald Sutherland providing some light relief. I do prefer the original but this is definitely one of the better remakes out there. Also the part when Floyd was squeezing through that teeny vent in the jail is just downright disturbing!
Review by Jake ★½ 1

Fuck Rob Lowe, fuck this movie, and fuck me for wasting three hours of my life I will never get back. I hate it. It sucks. The end. You’re welcome.

ThiS HAs beEn mY TED taLK
Review by Pube ★½

"This movie is literally worse than that time Rob Lowe filmed himself fucking children" - Chris Traeger.
Review by Matt Curione ★

Absolutely dreadful. A three hour endurance test of terrible acting, bad effects, and none of the charm of the novel or the Tobe Hooper version to be found.

I rarely outright hate movies but this really pushed me to the brink. One star for a campy Donald Sutherland but nothing else.
Review by Isaac Thompson ★★★

Adaptations of Stephen King novels rarely possess the magic of his prose. With Salem's Lot, it's been attempted twice and, while they're both good, neither of them hit the mark entirely. This version, made for TV in 2004, doesn't quite match the creepy atmosphere of Tobe Hooper's 1979 TV version, but it does improve on it in some ways. Perhaps a great adaptation of the book lies somewhere between the two.

This one has a lot going for it, the cast is mostly great and, in some ways, it's closer to the novel. There are still arbitrary changes here and there, and the original does a better job matching the tone of the novel, but this one includes a lot…
Review by Hayden Gilbert ★★★

My first experience with Stephen King was seeing the UK Theatrical cut of Tobe Hooper's 'Salem's Lot adaptation on VHS. My dad wanted to show it to me and, more importantly my MOTHER wanted me to see it, and I knew that meant it was either not scary or very scary. Well when I saw the Glick boys floating outside of the window, my mother went outside and at that moment, ran her fingernails over our living room window and I screamed and had to sleep with a cross that night (I rolled over and crushed it in my sleep). I would make my dad tell me the story every single day on the drive to school (either that or…

Recent reviews

Review by Jake ★½ 1

Fuck Rob Lowe, fuck this movie, and fuck me for wasting three hours of my life I will never get back. I hate it. It sucks. The end. You’re welcome.

ThiS HAs beEn mY TED taLK
Review by Carla Hufstedler ★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Stars deducted for plot points missed in the script. What did the doc inject into himself? And what exactly happened there in the last few minutes?
Otherwise, Rob Lowe makes a smashing Ben, and Donald Sutherland is horrifying.
Review by hotsake ★★★

Doesn't have the atmosphere of the '79 mini series and isn't able to delve deep into each character as the book did but still reasonably fun none the less. The film has a low budget and most of the characters don't get the chance to be fleshed out. This certainly has the feel of a lower budget TV movie and has some poor directing choices as well as some shoddy CGI. If you have the time give it a watch you just might like it.
Review by ezra vaughn ★★★★

interesting
Review by coffeekermit07 ★★★

This TV-version of Stephen Kings "All American Bram Stokers Dracula" is kind of a mixed bag. The script is solid and the miniseries as a whole never boring, but some scenes look like a cheesy 90ies TV show and while almost everybody else looks and acts fitting to the characters, Rob Lowe is just hopelessly miscast as the lead Ben Mears (don't get me started on that terribly narrated voice over).

Could have been better, could have been worse.
Review by mattyfastwheelz ★★½

A pretty mixed bag: great cast (Hauer is superb), some really excellent moments in isolation, better character work than the '79 version (don't @ me) -- but then there's Rob Lowe, generally poor direction, and some really botched scenes. I might like this better as an adaptation ('04 is just way more brutal, which I think is crucial), but '79 is probably a better work overall.
Review by thejesu ★★½

Adaptación correcta de una de mis novelas favoritas.
Review by Kevin Matthews ★★★½

A TV movie remake of a fantastic TV movie based on Stephen King's best (in my opinion) novel - did it ever stand a chance against fans of either predecessor? I hope the answer is yes because, despite some major differences between this version and either previous source, it's a decent, traditional vampire tale that stands in it's own right as a solid piece of entertainment.

Let me repeat the main plot description from my review of the original Tobe Hooper TV movie: The tale is all about writer Ben Mears (played this time around by Rob Lowe) returning to his home town and finding that strange things are, in deed, afoot. The problem gets worse and worse and may…
Review by alexkeller2018 ★★½

For a story that balances so many characters, it’s pace is way too slow. Sometimes you don’t recognize a characters name because it’s been awhile since you’ve seen them. The characters were fine but the performances were bland. It was shot in an uninspiring, bland way and didn’t capture my attention in a great way. James Cromwell tho, that guy is awesome.