Quoted by author Stephen King himself as being one of his favorite novels he has written, the narrative of “Salem’s Lot” is one of those sneakily influential touchstones of horror stories set in small towns, exploring the existence of small towns through a genre lens. Various filmmakers and storytellers would tackle “Salem’s Lot” in various forms, either as adaptations—the 1979 miniseries directed by Tobe Hooper or the 2004 miniseries—or as reimaginings—”Midnight Mass” by Mike Flanagan. But this 2024 version is the first King’s novel to be given the feature film treatment, to arguably mixed results.
Salem’s Lot (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis
Who are the new mysterious “Outsiders” coming to Salem’s Lot?
The movie opens with our apparent antagonist, Mr. Straker (Pilou Asbaek), instructing Mr. Snow, the mover, about a large crate arriving at the wharf at 6 p.m. They would have to carefully retrieve that crate and deliver it to Straker in a truck because it is very heavy, and its contents are far too old and fragile. Considering Straker has moved from London to the town of Salem’s Lot and opened up an antique store, it makes sense from a narrative sense. We then see the van driving past the gate of an old abandoned house now under the ownership of Straker. The old Marsden house is owned by an apparent Satan-worshipper, Hubert Marsden.
Marsden would shoot his wife as a result. Snow and his assistant gingerly carry the crate, containing a suspiciously human-sized coffin, down the cellar. Because it is heavy, they are unable to set it down without breaking it. Some of the splinter-free sections of the coffin reveal it is filled with dirt, inciting their suspicion. Scared of what it might contain, the two of them start walking up, but a whisper calls Snow back. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes become cloudy as a voice from the coffin controls him, and the cover slowly opens. His stupor is broken by his assistant calling him back to the truck, and he immediately races back, locking the cellar door.
We are introduced to the first protagonist of the movie, Ben Mears. First, because this Gary Dauberman adaptation truly wants to hammer home the ensemble nature of the film. He is returning to Salem’s Lot, a town he grew up in until he was 9. He would leave the town after an accident with a drunk driver would kill both Ben’s parents. His return is part of research for his next book and a search for closure.
Ben would drive through the town to the realtor’s office to facilitate his stay, where a meet-cute would occur between Ben and Susan Norton. She would be found reading Ben’s book but unable to remember that the man standing before her is the same man in the photo at the back of the book. However, while they enjoy an imminent attraction, Ben also learns about the new inhabitants of Marsten House and the new antique shop that has opened up opposite the realtor’s office.
Later at the library, when Susan, with her mother Mabel, learns of Ben’s frequent visits to the library, she very unsubtly announces her plans to go to the drive-in so that Ben would take the hint and hang out with her. The drive-in, Susan suggests, might be a better place for Ben to research and understand the townspeople. While conversing, where Susan recounts stories about key town members, Ben asks about her life. She explains that she used to stay in Boston but returned to Salem’s Lot to help her father when he got sick. Having passed away the previous year, Susan is now sticking around because her mother is trying her hardest to ensure she doesn’t leave.
What happens to Ralph and Danny Glick?
At Stanley Street Elementary School, brothers Ralph and Danny Glick make friends with the new kid, Mark Petrie. But when bully Richie Bodin punches Petrei as a welcoming act to the school, he waits until he is freed of the ropes with which he had tied his hands to show a magic trick, unceremoniously interrupted. Then he jumps on Boddin and hits him back, locking his hand at the back and asking him to cry, Uncle; otherwise, he would break his hand.
Boddin’s hand is finally saved by the arrival of the school headmaster, Matthew Burke. Burke doesn’t overtly encourage Petrie but reminds him to let anyone who screams “Uncle” go rather than overdo it out of indulgence. But this bravery does buy Petrie the friendship of the Glick brothers, with the brothers also learning of his courage and determination to fight back against bullies. Unbeknownst to them, they had been noticed by Stracker.
The town of Salem’s lot is soon wrought by tragedy. Upon realizing the man in the old phantom car is creepy and has shifty intentions, the Glick brothers take a shortcut through the forests. Unfortunately, that proves to be their undoing, as Ralphie is kidnapped by a sneaky Stracker and stuffed in a gunny sack in the boot of the car.
Stracker drives up to the Marsten house, where, to Ralph’s horror, he is introduced to Stracker’s master, Barlow, a vampire (who, unlike Dracula in the original book, has features resembling Count Orlok in the 1922 film “Nosferatu”). The visualization in that sequence, with the entire candlelit room shrouded in darkness, except the candlesticks held by the toothed vampire as he walks down the staircase, shows the kid’s screams being heard all over the empty town before the vampire finally devours the kid.
The following day, alcoholic Father Callahan, who had imprisoned himself on his own accord due to a drinking spree, is released by friend and fellow townsfolk Perkins Gillespie, who informs him that the youngest Glick boy is missing. The townsfolk have organized a search party. That search party congregation also reveals the townspeople’s animosity towards Mears, primarily because he is an “outsider.”
All except Matt Burke, headmaster of Stanley Street Elementary School. Through their interaction, we also learn that a majority of the animus comes from the menfolk of the town due to a collective crush they had on Susie Norton, whose hopes are now dashed because Mears is the man in her life. But as Burke and Mears, later joined by Norton, converse, they realize that the search party needs to be stopped, and the cold, hard reality has settled in.
At the Glick House, older kid Danny hears a noise that night. Imagining he has heard his brother, he leans out of the window. Upon hearing the voice becoming clearer, he walks out in the foggy night and finds his brother’s Harmonica on the playground. As he examines it, Barlow suddenly pulls him upward.
When the movie cuts to the next scene, we see a ghostly, white-looking Danny walking into the house, standing in the dark at his parents’ home, complaining about feeling sick. At the hospital, the parents are informed that, scientifically speaking, Danny is exhibiting pernicious anemia (blood unable to form blood cells). That night, as Danny’s mother dozes off while keeping watch, Danny wakes up feeling thirsty, tears open the blood bag, and drinks it down before dropping dead again, to the horror of Danny’s poor mother.
What arouses Matt Burke’s suspicions?
Poor Mike Myerson, the graveyard digger, falls asleep out of sight during the burial of Danny Glick. But when he wakes up at night to resume the closure of the grave, he is suddenly stunned by hearing Danny screaming from inside the coffin, urging someone to get him out of there. Perturbed, he opens the coffin only to find the Glick boy’s body apparently undisturbed. He crawls out of the grave, and as he resumes, he finds the grave suddenly opened and the Glick boy missing, only for Danny to jump on him and turn him into a vampire.
The next night, at Dell’s Bar, Matt Burke would visit the bar after work hours to wind down, only to notice an emaciated Myerson sitting in the dark. Worried at how sick he looks and Ryerson’s pleas for help, Burke would take Ryerson to his home, allowing him to sleep in the room above. However, he also notices bite marks on his neck that ignite his curiosity, resting to bed a lot of his suspicions. Before long, as he walks out of the house, he sees the top window open and someone slithering through, which terrifies him enough to call up Mears and Norton.
When the two of them arrive, Mears goes to Ryerson’s room only to find Ryerson very noticeably dead, and the bite marks have disappeared. According to folklore, as recounted by Burke, those bite marks would disappear in such instances, and then the transformation would take place anywhere between minutes and days. Dr. Cody would be called to pronounce Ryerson’s death without accepting Burke’s hypothesis of pernicious anemia hinting at vampirism, as scientifically, it’s not a disease you can catch.
How do Mark Petrie and Matt Burke stave off the vampires?
However, Mark Petrie would disagree if he had been there, as he would be visited at night by a mid-air floating Danny Glick, who manages to control him to open his window and let the vampire in. Petrie would be saved by a cross on his table glowing in the vampire’s presence, which he would use as a weapon to drive Glick away. That would urge Petrie to read comic books to learn about vampires and their weaknesses because he would also take his friendship with Glick to heart and promise to help him by setting him free.
Burke, too, would be attacked by a returning vampiric, Mike Ryerson, and he would only be able to save himself by using a cross to banish the vampire from the premises. That convinces Burke enough to assemble a ragtag team of allies comprising Mears, Norton, and Dr. Cody. Mears believes that the only way it could be proved that Danny Glick is dead is if his body would be exhumed. But considering that his body is missing, they plan instead to examine Marjorie Glick, Danny’s mother, who had died the previous night the same way as Danny.
Who kills Matt and Straker?
Burke, meanwhile, plans to follow Straker, and he sees Straker managing to hypnotize Anne Norton, Susan’s mother. He meanwhile sneaks into the basement at the Masterson house, where Mark Petrie soon joins him. However, unbeknownst to them, Straker had followed Burke and managed to trap the two of them inside. As Matt tries to help Mark escape by running towards the stairs, he will be killed by Barlow, who wakes up and gorges on him.
Meanwhile, Matt would be captured by Straker and left tied up. He would, however, be able to wiggle out of his bonds because of his amateurish knowledge of Houdini’s magic skills. When Straker (uncharacteristically happy because Salem’s Lot had been welcoming to Barlow, as had been promised a long time ago by Marsten to Barlow) would walk in, he would be hit with a hammer by Petrie and killed.
How do Ben and Susan kill the turned Marjorie Glick?
Meanwhile, at the morgue, as night falls, the dead body of Marjorie Glick rises and manages to attack Cody, Mears, and Norton. Norton and Mears would try to banish Glick by creating a makeshift cross out of ice cream sticks, which temporarily manages to incapacitate before the cross is destroyed.
The vampire manages to attack and bite Cody, while Mears tries to choke her out with the bedsheet covering the face until Norton finally reforms the cross and burns her back, banishing her, but not before learning that Matt is also turned. Cody instructs them to give her a rabies shot, which manages to cure her because she had been injected immediately after she had been bitten. It would be proved to them when they drive past Burke’s house and see vampires keeping guard on the roof.
What does the ragtag team find at the Marsten House?
The trio tries to convince Father Callahan, who admits that he needs the least convincing considering his line of work, but it is still hard to believe. They are interrupted by young Mark Petrie, walking in with his bag filled with stakes, who reveals that Burke is “one of them” and that Barlow is the head vampire, with Straker, his “familiar,” doing his bidding.
Callahan urges Petrie to take him to where it happened. As the team explores the apparently abandoned Marsten house, their exploration of the basement is interrupted by the now-turned Matt Burke, who attacks them. They are only stopped by sunlight streaming through because the cellar door is broken. Once that happens, Mears drives the stake through Burke’s heart, killing him.
Who is the new familiar of Barlow?
After that incident, Cody tries to convince Parkins to join them in driving the vampires away, but he retorts by stating the only vampires who had been able to infiltrate the town had been due to the town already dying. Parkins is not “giving up,” but by leaving the town, he is ensuring his survival. Meanwhile, Norton and Mears go to her house to convince Norton’s mother to come to the church with them, only to learn that she has taken the place of Straker as Barlow’s familiar. Norton would be attacked by one of the vampires hiding in the house and bitten. Mears would drag her to the church, but by the time he reaches there and meets Cody, it is already too late for her to be cured with the rabies shot.
Instead, Cody advises Mears to drive the stake through his heart, but before he can do that, the turned Susan Norton, who had been suffering due to being inside the church—on hallowed ground—rushes out of the church. Mears runs to bring her back only to find the church surrounded by vampires—most, if not all, townspeople had been turned by vampires. Mears manages to catch the stake being thrown by Cody and impales one of the vampires just before being bitten, falling on top of the vampire whose body breaks his fall. It is revealed to be Myerson, finally at peace.
What happens to Father Callahan?
Meanwhile, Callahan and Mark try to convince Mark’s parents to leave Mark’s place, but they are too late because Barlow himself attacks them, turning Mark’s parents. Callahan tries to keep Barlow at bay, urging Mark to escape, but Barlow cunningly asks Callahan and sheds doubt on his faith, leading the cross to stop glowing. This leads to one of the bigger changes in the book—the death of Callahan at the hands of Barlow.
Does Mark Petrie kill Danny Glick?
Meanwhile, Mark manages to race to his treehouse and hide until the night finally breaks. The next morning, he would explore Straker’s antique store to find Barlow and possibly kill him, only to be found by the vampiric Danny Glick. As Glick leans forward to bite Mark, Mark is successful in driving the stake through his heart, killing him. Mark finally meets up with Cody and Mears, who try to convince him to leave the town, only for Petrie to vehemently refuse and urge them to fight back; otherwise, the vampires would come for them eventually. Mears also realizes that there is a severe lack of cars in the town, which provides a big clue.
Salem’s Lot (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Where were the vampires hiding in the daylight?
It soon turns out that updating Salem’s lot means the film introduces the concept of the drive-in, with the boots of the cars acting as makeshift coffins for the vampires for their eventual rise as the sun sets. As Cody tries to kill one of the sleeping vampires, she is shot dead by Anne Norton, now a true believer in Barlow. As the sun sets, the vampires start rising from the grave. A group of vampires attack Mears, trying to overwhelm him. Mark manages to get a car started and knocks down the screen at the drive-in, letting the sun’s rays fall uninterrupted, dousing all the vampires up in flames, before driving the car over and killing Mrs. Norton.
Does Ben Mears and Mark Petrie manage to escape from Salem’s Lot?
Having rescued Mears, the two of them realize that Barlow’s coffin is inside a truck (calling back to the film’s first scene where a truck would bring the evil to Salem’s Lot). They are unable to open the coffin in time, with Barlow gaining strength and managing to fly out of the coffin. Meanwhile, Ben is attacked by the vampirized Susan, with the majority of the final act doubling as a physical altercation between Ben and his lover until he manages to use a chair and drive one of its legs through her chest, killing and ultimately freeing her. Meanwhile, Mark is stalked by Barlow, who manages to locate Max hiding in the car park basement. As Barlow finally grabs him by the neck and pushes Mark closer, Ben sneaks up from behind Barlow and drives a stake through his open mouth, killing him.
The film ends with Ben and Mark driving away from Salem’s lot. Ben reasoning that Barlow’s death had led to the death of all the vampires, and they could rest easy. This is quite different from the book’s ending, which would show Ben and Mark escaping from Salem’s lot but without having killed all the vampires and on the run.
They return to Salem’s Lot two years later, realizing that they have been tracked, and it is then that Ben kills Susan and destroys her. The book ends with Ben and Mark understanding that they will be followed by the vampires again. Considering that ending, this movie takes a more definitive route, which does work as a closure to a far more action-packed film.
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