Anna Daniels
Gary Dauberman is ready to sink his teeth into Stephen King‘s iconic vampire tale Salem’s Lot. The filmmaker, who directed Annabelle Comes Home, and co-wrote It and It Chapter Two, will direct the Salem’s Lot reboot for producer James Wan. Released in 1975, Salem’s Lot was King’s second published novel, and concerned a small New England town overrun by bloodsuckers. The book served as the inspiration for a 1979 miniseries directed by Tobe Hooper, and still another miniseries that was released in 2004.
THR has the scoop that Gary Dauberman will direct the Salem’s Lot reboot – and write the screenplay, too. Word of there reboot first broke almost exactly a year ago. James Wan, Roy Lee and Mark Wolper are producing, with Dauberman serving as executive producer. Based on the novel by Stephen King, Salem’s Lot was King’s attempt to both write a Peyton Place-style novel crossed with Dracula. Here’s the synopsis:
Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work—in fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town.
Salem’s Lot remains one of King’s most iconic novels, although it’s not exactly one of his best. The storytelling is great, but some of the characters are a bit flat, which is rare for King, who specializes in character building.
While Salem’s Lot was adapted into a miniseries twice, it’s never had a big-screen adaptation, so this will be a first. Hollywood has been on a big Stephen King revival kick ever since 2017’s It – which Dauberman co-wrote. Overall, I think Dauberman is a pretty good fit for this material. His Annabelle Comes Home is the best entry in the Annabelle series, and his work on the It screenplays proves he has a familiarity with what makes King tick.
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