10/10/2024

LYFE THURSDAY | OCT 10, 2024

26

Ű BY MARK MATHEN VICTOR

A DAPTING books of the horror variety into film will always come with great difficulty. How could anyone possibly distil 500 pages – give or take – into a two-hour film? Typically, one of two parts of horror novels are sacrificed when made into film. This tends to often be the horror or the characters and their development, in which one is watered down to make room for the other. For Salem’s Lot , it appears both have happened simultaneously. Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same time, Salem’s Lot takes place in the sleepy, rural town of Jerusalem’s Lot. After leaving the town as a child following the death of his parents, author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) returns to find inspiration for his next book. As fate would have it, Kurt Barlow has also arrived in Jerusalem’s Lot. Mears and the townspeople slowly realise Barlow is intent on turning Jerusalem’s Lot into a vampire colony. Outdated horror in modern times If this version of Salem’s Lot was released in the 80s or even 90s, it could very well have been a modest hit as it fits the mould of the made-for-television horror films emblematic to those eras. However, in 2024, the film feels like a remnant of the past. The characters are barely developed, the horror is simultaneously tame yet over the top while the stunt work precariously balances itself on a fence in between being janky and campy. The odd orange filter used to evoke rural 70s America is just salt on the wound, turning the cinematography into looking digitally artificial and hollow.

Mears (left) and a few townspeople are forced to make a stand against the vampires. – PICS BY WARNER BROS

Salem’s Lot is outmoded horror flick story up. It is impossible to ignore how there is plenty that feels wrong with the film.

move the story forwards while outwardly building the world within the books. An overwhelming majority of filmmakers that have attempted to adapt the author’s written material into film have failed. King’s own attempt at adapting his Trucks short story into film resulted in the catastrophic, alcohol and cocaine-fueled Maximum Overdrive movie. Having said that, the failure in Salem’s Lot vampiric flight can not be entirely blamed on director Gary Dauberman as the film is not objectively bad in any sense. It has a certain comfort reminiscent of nostalgic films but with a million other films here in the present, Salem’s Lot can not do much but be another fleeting film without personality. Salem’s Lot is streaming on HBO Go.

Stake through heart The red flags for the film range from its multiple filming gaps: how it was originally set to release in 2022, how it was postponed to the middle of 2023 before Warner Bros went silent on the film’s release throughout the year and how it was finally confirmed that it would come out this month. Salem’s Lot final red flag was how Warner Bros shifted its release from cinemas to the Max (HBO Go here) streaming platform. The studio clearly had no confidence in the film and after watching it, the reasons are quite clear. King’s books are hard to adapt solely due to how dense they are. The horror is elemental and many of his books hinge on the strong writing behind his characters and how they

o Latest Stephen King film adaptation fails to capture novel’s sense of dread or character depth

Like similar films and television series’ released after Stranger Things in 2016, which itself was heavily influenced by King’s books, Salem’s Lot tries to replicate the energy behind the “young characters going up a terrible evil force” formula. This too falls flat as the film brushes every character aside as it flails its way from one plot point to the next, racing to cover as much ground as possible to wrap the

The film retains the Nosferatu-style of vampire design for Barlow.

South Korean director brings fresh film adaptation to Busan festival SOUTH Korean filmmaker Hur Jin ho, known for his early romances, presented a fresh, entertaining adaptation of a celebrated Dutch crime novel at the Busan It highlights his

artistic approaches and skillful adaptation of the best-selling Dutch novel The Dinner by Herman Koch with convincing Korean social contexts. The book had already been adapted by several filmmakers prior to Hur’s film, including Oren Moverman and Ivano De Matteo. “It is true that I felt pressure because all the existing films were outstanding. But, I thought we could bring this story to Korea and tailor it to suit our circumstances. “I decided to be brave and go for it,” Hur said at an event following a screening of the film in Busan. The film reflects South Korea’s social ills, including its hyper competitive education system and worsening class divide while also evoking real–life nepotism and power abuse scandals involving the country’s elites and their children. The screening last Friday received warm applause from the sold-out audience. Kim, in particular, delivered a

According to Hur, the film reflects South Korea’s

International Film Festival (BIFF) this week, ahead of its theatrical release. Featuring some of the most beloved veteran actors in South Korea, including Kim Hee-ae and Jang Dong-gun, A Normal Family was one of the most anticipated homegrown films to be featured at BIFF this year. The film, focusing on two affluent brothers who uncover dark secrets about their teenage children, made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and has since received invitations to around 18 other cinema festivals, prior to its domestic theatrical release next Wednesday. Unveiled to the South Korean public for the first time in Busan this week, the thriller is a departure from Hur’s earlier slow-paced romances.

social ills. – AFPPIC

nearly Shakespearean portrayal of a deeply flawed mother who feels entitled to her upper-class privileges while being fiercely protective of her enigmatic son who

is often bullied at school. “I aimed to capture the transformation that occurs when we touch upon the most vulnerable aspects of human desire and

deficiency,” Kim said. The film, at its core, “illustrates how individuals can crumble in the face of their weaknesses”. – ETX Studio