33/18
The paper was supposedly printed in 1956, at a time when the term "DUI" was not yet in use
Scenario
An author returns to his hometown of Jerusalem's Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover that the townspeople are being attacked by a bloodthirsty vampire.. Writer Gary Dauberman told Den of Geek in June 2019 that his goal with the new version of Salem's Lot is to make vampires frightening again. He wants to get away from the sexier, more romanticized undead that has infested pop culture for much of the past quarter century, thanks to everything from Interview with the Vampire to Twilight to The Vampire Diaries.. When Ben is reading old newspapers on microfilm in the library, a headline reads "Local Couple Victims of DUI".
SundownWritten and Performed by Gordon LightfootCourtesy of Warner RecordsBy arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
References Trog (1970). This new adaptation of Stephen King's classic, "Salem's Lot", is a missed opportunity.It's now well-known that this movie fell victim to studio meddling, both from WB and producer James Wan. The result is a mediocre, bland, and lifeless product.King's strength has always been his focus on the human element-the characters, and how their relationships inform the narrative and provide an emotional core to his stories. Here, none of that exists.It seems, based on what's left, that director Dauberman had an idea of how to tell the story while staying faithful to the source material.
Cody) delivers a performance that's a cut above the rest
His directorial approach is simple, almost naive, but for a story like this, it could've worked.However, any semblance of life has been sucked out (likely in the editing room), leaving behind what I'd call a "non-film." The pacing is so brisk it becomes annoying, making it impossible to care about the one-dimensional characters, who exist more as narrative devices than as real people.The visual style doesn't help either, as it's reminiscent of The Conjuring series-visually slick, sterilized horror aimed at the masses. The few character-driven moments seem shot for efficiency, with the most basic framing, blocking, and composition, rather than any attempt to convey real emotion.Alfre Woodard (Dr. Makenzie Leigh (Susan), John Benjamin Hickey (Father Callahan), and Lewis Pullman (Ben Mears)-in that order-do their best with the material. The younger actors are fine, but everyone else… not so much.
The sequence is topped off with sub-par CGI and one of the most anticlimactic endings I can rememberThe production values are clearly there, though
A couple of performances are even laughably bad.If the characters come off as one-dimensional despite the actors' best efforts, it feels fitting that the main antagonist can't even be described as such. His only discernible trait seems to be going "Bleaarrggghh" before feeding on his next victim.There's virtually no blood or gore and most of the violence happens off camera.The score and sound design are serviceable but far from memorable, doing little to enhance the nonexistent emotional impact of the story. After nearly two hours of nothingness, the film devolves into a boring, senseless, and meaningless "action-packed" finale (keep an eye out for the sun moving at plot-convenient speeds). Even if it was never going to be a masterpiece, there was a chance to make an emotionally resonant film with the timely theme of a small American town's fear of "the outsider."Alas, what we' re left with is a hefty, bloated serving of nothing..
Check out our October calendar for more!
The final season of "What We Do in the Shadows" is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres this month.