The new Salem's Lot movie isn't getting a cinema release after all

The new Salem's Lot movie will not receive a cinema release.

The film is based on the 1975 novel of the same name, written by Stephen King, which was adapted into a two-part television series in 1979.

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The official premise reads:

'Ben Mears is a writer who returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot in search of inspiration, only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a vampire, leading him to band together with a ragtag group to fight it.'

Written and directed by Gary Dauberman, Salem's Lot has actually been completed since 2022 but the release date was postponed due to COVID and then the actor and writer strikes.

King previously expressed his surprise that the movie had not received a release date.

"Between you and me, Twitter, I've seen the new SALEM'S LOT and it's quite good," the author wrote on X.

"Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it's embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the f**king things."

Variety reports that Warner Bros. Discover have opted to skip a theatrical release in favour of a streaming release on HBO Max at some point in 2024.

3.15 (315)

Salem's Lot (1979)

Years later, a writer returns to his hometown to find out that the locals are behaving rather strangely. He thinks the Marsten House, an old house on top of a hill, has something to do with it. A modern adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula by Stephen King.

Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Stars: David Soul, James Mason and Lance Kerwin

Salem's Lot will keep you up at night

The movie stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, Pilou Asbæk, Alfre Woodard, and William Sadler.

Pullman plays the lead Ben Mears, and has promised scares that will have you waking up in a cold sweat.

"I think it’s in good hands, Gary (Dauberman) is a really smart guy who has a keen eye for things," he previously told ComicBook.com

"I think, not just lean on the jump scares, but lean on the more conceptual and visual things that, rather than a shock that fades out of your body in the next five minutes, something that’s more visual, like an imprint that burnt into your retinas as a disturbing image that you’ll wake up in the middle of the night that you can’t shake out of your head.”