Lewis Pullman, star of the upcoming Salem’s Lot adaptation, is keen to see the film reintroduce audiences to vampires that aren’t “sparkly.” Based on the best-selling 1975 novel by horror maestro Stephen King, the story follows a writer by the name of Ben Mears who returns to his small hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot only to discover that its residents are becoming vampires. It was the second of King’s published works, and the author himself has often credited it with being amongst his favorite creations.
Since it was first published, Salem’s Lot inspired a two-part television miniseries in 1979, which starred David Soul as Ben Mears, and it also inspired a 1987 sequel film, A Return to Salem’s Lot, that was only partially based on King’s original work. In 2004 the property would see itself adapted again into another two-part miniseries starring Rob Lowe, Donald Sutherland and Rutger Hauer. In 2019 a new feature film adaptation was announced with Annabelle and IT screenwriter Gary Dauberman set to write and direct. Pullman was announced in the leading role in August last year.
Recently Pullman, whose latest film Press Play has just been released, caught up with Screen Rant and spoke exclusively about his work on the Stephen King adaptation and what audiences can expect. Taking a jab at the Twilight franchise, he says that vampires of late have “become a little bit sparkly and not so scary” and that Dauberman’s film will seek to correct that. Check out his full comments below:
It's really exciting to bring vampires back. They've become a little bit sparkly and not so scary. When they originated, they were terrifying. I think Gary's really keen on bringing that back, and I think [Salem's Lot] is going to do it. I've been genuinely terrified on the set multiple times, so that's a good sign. I think he did a great job.
Despite their long-lived representations in popular culture, vampires have more recently been depicted as sympathetic characters rather than truly horrific monsters. While the Twilight saga certainly played a large role in softening their image amongst film-going audiences, several other properties such as The Vampire Diaries and True Blood have presented more human-like aspects to their characters over the years. Perhaps it is not entirely fair to even consider this trend a purely modern occurrence, with Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire, which was instrumental in redefining the vampire genre and has its own television adaptation coming, published only one year after King’s Salem’s Lot.
Either way, it is certainly refreshing to see a more monster-centric approach to vampire lore making its way back to screens, and there is probably no better source material to base it on than King’s classic novel. Gone will be the skin sparkling in the sunlight, and in its place, a truly frightening breed of monster intent on feasting on human blood. Salem’s Lot is currently scheduled to hit theaters on September 9. Meanwhile, fans can see Pullman in Press Play currently in theaters and on demand.