Warning: Spoilers ahead for Max’s Salem’s Lot!After being in development for years, Salem’s Lot has arrived on Max, but it’s not without significant changes to Stephen King’s 1975 horror novel. The movie by Gary Dauberman isn’t the first adaptation of the Stephen King book; it’s been turned into two miniseries, a radio drama, and an element in several other King-inspired spinoffs. Each version of Salem’s Lot has its pros and cons, taking different approaches to King’s story, but the foundation remains the same.
A man named Ben Mears returns to Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, a town with a history of dark secrets that becomes the site of more terror after the arrival of a vampire named Kurt Barlow and his human familiar, Richard Straker. Salem’s Lot is one of Stephen King’s best books and still holds up nearly 50 years later. With a runtime of less than two hours, the Max remake faced a tough challenge in changing aspects of the book and cutting out elements altogether, but some of the differences are more significant than others.
10 Ben Mears’ Salem’s Lot Origin Story
Ben’s Backstory Is Tweaked
Ben Mears is still the driving force behind 2024’s Salem’s Lot, with Lewis Pullman portraying the movie’s main protagonist. That said, a few aspects of Ben’s story differ from the Max adaptation and Stephen King’s 1975 book. For one, the book states that Ben lived with his aunt for four years as a kid in Jerusalem’s Lot following his father’s death and his mother’s inability to care for him. He ended up leaving sometime after the town’s tragic fire, but in the movie, Ben shares that he left town after a drunk driver killed his parents.
the movie cuts Ben’s personal connection to the Marsten House, where he experienced a haunting encounter in the mansion as a boy in the book.
Interestingly, that isn’t the only aspect of Ben’s backstory adjusted for the Max movie. The latest version also leaves out his wife Miranda and her death, seemingly giving that tragedy to Ben’s parents instead. The circumstances surrounding Ben’s return still involve an attempt at some closure with the town. However, the movie cuts Ben’s personal connection to the Marsten House, where he experienced a haunting encounter in the mansion as a boy in the book. The experience is a significant factor in Ben’s Jerusalem’s Lot return.
9 The History Of The Marsten House
Hubie Marsten Doesn’t Come Into Focus
The Marsten House, in general, doesn’t have the same impact in the 2024 movie compared to Stephen King’s novel. The original story treats the old mansion as a living character in some ways, using its looming presence over ‘Salem’s Lot as a constant reminder of the town’s dark history. Likely limited due to runtime, the movie scraps much of the history surrounding the home and its former owner, Hubie Marsten. While mentioned and teased, the movie fails to dive into Hubie’s murder-suicide and his connection to Barlow.
According to King’s book, Hubert “Hubie” Marsten was a mobster and a child predator who ended up taking refuge in ‘Salem’s Lot. Hubie’s depraved nature continued as he came in contact with a man named “Breichen” (aka Barlow), essentially inviting the vampire to Maine. Before his arrival, Hubie’s insanity worsened, which led to him torturing his own wife, Birdie. She practically begged for her death to end the terror, so he shot Birdie before hanging himself. That said, the Marsten House remains a vessel for evil when Ben and Barlow come to town.
8 Susan Norton’s Parents
The 2024 Movie Changes Susan’s Mom & Dad
Like in the book, Susan Norton is presented as a key resident in Jerusalem’s Lot. While her initial introduction to Ben is adjusted a bit in the movie–meeting at the realtor’s office where she works as a secretary–it still leads to a romantic path for the two characters. King’s book allows Ben and Susan to take their relationship a bit more slowly, especially when it involves Ben meeting Susan’s parents, Anne and Bill. Whereas Anne never warms up to Ben, Bill is welcoming and actually enjoys Ben’s presence before chaos reigns over the town.
the biggest movie change comes in the form of Anne becoming Barlow’s new servant following Richard Straker’s death.
Bill isn’t among Salem’s Lot characters for the 2024 remake, stating that Susan’s father was already dead before the events of the movie. Susan was actually away in Boston and came home to Jerusalem’s Lot when her dad was sick and ended up sticking around. Anne is present and still has hopes for Susan and Floyd Tibbits, but the biggest movie change comes in the form of Anne becoming Barlow’s new servant following Richard Straker’s death. Anne is even a significant threat during Salem’s Lot‘s ending showdown with Barlow.
7 Dr. Cody’s Gender
Salem’s Lot’s Doctor Is Now A Woman
Doctor Jimmy Cody is a pivotal character through a large portion of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot book, and the same can be said for the 2024 movie. The book portrays Dr. Cody as a male, whereas the movie features Alfre Woodard in the role. Woodard has spoken about Salem’s Lot‘s Dr. Cody change, revealing that the character was initially written as a man, like in previous versions, before being changed to a woman in the remake. Aside from swapping the gender, the character’s place in the story doesn’t stray too much.
Dr. Cody’s fate is altered a bit, with Woodard’s character being shot and killed by Anne Norton at the drive-in in the movie’s third act, but the figure is still a significant ally to Ben and the others. After becoming involved in the mysterious deaths plaguing the town, it becomes vital for Ben and Matthew Burke to find trusted residents who believe in the evil taking over the town. Man or woman, Dr. Cody quickly becomes an asset in their short-lived endeavor to save Jerusalem’s Lot.
6 Matthew Burke’s Heart Attack
The 2024 Movie Cuts A Big Subplot For Matt
One of the ways Dr. Cody becomes so heavily involved in the town’s odd happenings is due to Matthew Burke. After encountering Mike Ryerson in his vampire form, Matt suffers a heart attack and is stuck in the hospital for the duration of the story. That said, the high school teacher still impacts the story as he attempts to help Ben, and seeing as his health attracts his doctor, Jimmy Cody, it paves the way for another ally. Oddly, Matt’s heart attack and concerning health are cut from the movie, but he still meets a grim fate like the book.
Being stuck in the hospital leads Matt to become the researcher for how the group can fight back against Barlow and the growing army of vampires. Sadly, Matt never makes it out of the hospital because he dies before the book ends. The Salem’s Lot remake movie keeps Matt out of the hospital, but he still ends up getting killed. After catching Mark breaking into the Marsten House, Matt is killed in the cellar, and Mark is taken hostage by Straker.
5 Father Callahan Is Killed
The Max Movie Changes Callahan’s Fate
Not every character featured in Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot story gets adequate screen time in Max’s movie. This is understandable since only so many stories and subplots can share the spotlight for a movie in under two hours. Still, the film takes some liberties with character fates, especially with Father Callahan. The local priest becomes an ally in the movie, just like in the novel, but his fate is not left ambiguous in following the original story. Instead, Father Callahan is killed when encountering Barlow at the Petrie home, which doesn’t occur in the book.
While Father Callahan attempts to help Mark convince his parents about the vampires, his encounter with Barlow plays out differently. After Barlow overpowers Callahan and his diminishing faith, the vampire forces the priest to drink his blood to make him “unclean.” Unable to return to his own church due to his condition, he takes the next bus out of Jerusalem’s Lot, leaving his town behind and the others to fend for themselves. Interestingly, that’s not the end of Callahan’s story, as he appears in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
4 Mark’s Final Encounter With Vampire Danny
Mark & Danny Have An Additional Meeting
Mark’s initial encounter with Danny after he transforms into a vampire is one of the scariest sequences in Salem’s Lot. The movie includes the young vampire visiting Mark by appearing outside the boy’s window and getting an invitation inside. Mark avoids an attack with his crucifix, but he also promises to save his friend. In fact, the movie expands their friendship, seeing as Mark is a relative newcomer to town and a target of bullies. Therefore, it makes sense for the movie to tie up loose ends between Mark and Danny.
The stake kills Danny for good, but Mark is successful in setting his friend free so the boy can finally rest in peace.
After the death of his parents and Father Callahan, Mark hides in his treehouse as various vampires try to get to him. Before regrouping with Ben and Dr. Cody, Mark goes on a solo mission by breaking into Straker and Barlow’s furniture store, where Danny attacks him. Granted, Mark is prepared and stakes Danny during the attack. The stake kills Danny for good, but Mark is successful in setting his friend free so the boy can finally rest in peace.
3 Susan’s Vampire Fate
The Circumstances Surrounding Susan’s Death Are Changed
Ben has faced his fair share of tragedies in life, but he suffers more loss when returning to Jerusalem’s Lot in both the movie and the original book. Susan Norton ends up as one of Barlow’s victims in the novel after she accompanies Mark in investigating the Marsten House. The curiosity puts them both in danger, but while Mark eventually gets out alive, Susan is bitten and transformed into a vampire, requiring Ben to kill her with a stake later in the story. The latest movie version of Susan meets the same fate, but it shakes out much differently.
Though Susan stays alive longer in Max’s Salem’s Lot, she’s not one of the movie’s survivors. As she returns home to warn her mother about what’s happening in town, she and Ben find Anne’s mind already warped by Barlow. Even worse, Anne is using Floyd as her attacker, setting him on his own daughter. Susan’s body is later found in the trunk of a car at the drive-in, revealing her vampire form, but before Ben or Dr. Cody can kill her, Anne intervenes. Ben gets another chance at killing Susan in the snack shop, where he’s successful this time around.
2 The Final Showdown Against Barlow
The Big Fight Has A New Location
Based on the significance of the Marsten House throughout Salem’s Lot, it would make sense to assume the final fight against Barlow would occur in the mansion. Instead, the book presents Barlow’s defeat at the hands of Ben and Mark in the basement of Eve’s boarding house. The movie, however, uses a different location for the final showdown, and it’s one that appears earlier in the film and has several callbacks in the book: the local drive-in.
The location ends up being where all the vampires, including Barlow, take refuge during the day. The residents stay in the trunks of cars while Barlow remains in his coffin, hidden in the back of a nearby delivery truck. In addition to Anne lurking with a shotgun, the vampires awaken as the sun goes down. Thankfully, Mark jumps into a car, knocks over the drive-in’s giant movie screen to allow the sun to destroy various vampires, and hits Anne with the car to save Ben. After killing Susan, Ben repays the favor by saving Mark and killing Barlow in the process.
1 Ben & Mark’s Fate As The Sole Survivors
The 2024 Movie Doesn’t Include The Book’s Epilogue
The most significant change between Stephen King’s book and the 2024 movie is the ending sequence. The novel notably begins with a prologue detailing a man and a boy who have fled from Jerusalem’s Lot but feel the need to return. The pair turn out to be Ben and Mark, the story’s sole survivors. As detailed in Salem’s Lot‘s epilogue, Ben and Mark flee Jerusalem’s Lot after killing Barlow, but they return a year later to finish the job by killing the remaining vampires.
The
Salem’s Lot
movie ending on Max reveals that Ben and Mark leave town after killing Barlow, but there’s no epilogue
In order to do so, they start a brush fire to force the remaining vampires out of hiding by destroying what’s left of the town. The Salem’s Lot movie ending on Max reveals that Ben and Mark leave town after killing Barlow, but there’s no epilogue or fire narrative suggesting they intend to finish the job. It’s possible the movie is leaving open the possibility of a Salem’s Lot sequel, but either way, the fear will remain within Ben and Mark.
