The 10 biggest changes in Stephen King’s book Salem’s Lot

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Max’s Salem’s site!After years in development, Salem’s place has arrived on Max, but it’s not without significant changes to Stephen King’s 1975 horror novel. Gary Dauberman’s film is not the first adaptation of Stephen King’s book; It was turned into two miniseries, a radio drama, and an element in several other King-inspired spinoffs. Each version of Salem’s place Has its pros and cons, taking different approaches to the king’s story, but the foundation remains the same.

A man named Ben Mears returns to Jerusalem Lot, Maine, a town with a history of dark secrets that becomes the site of more terror after the arrival of a vampire named Kurt Barlow and his human acquaintance, Richard Straker. Salem’s place is one of Stephen King’s best books and still holds up almost 50 years later. With a runtime of less than two hours, the Max remake faces a tough challenge in changing aspects of the book and cutting out elements altogether, but some of the differences are more significant than others.

10

Ben Mears’ Salem’s Lot Origin Story

Ben’s backstory has been tweaked

Ben Mears is still the driving force behind 2024s Salem’s placeWith Lewis Pullman portraying the main protagonist of the movie. That said, Some aspects of Ben’s story differ from the Max adaptation and Stephen King’s 1975 book. For one, the book says that Ben lived with his aunt for four years as a child in Jerusalem’s Lot after his father’s death and his mother’s inability to care for him. He finally left town sometime after the tragic fire, but in the movie, Ben shares that he left town after a drunk driver killed his parents.

Interestingly, this isn’t the only aspect of Ben’s backstory adjusted for the Max movie. The latter version also leaves out his wife Miranda and her death, seemingly giving the tragedy to Ben’s parents instead. The circumstances surrounding Ben’s return still involve an attempt to shut down the city. However, the movie cuts Ben’s personal connection to the Marsten house, where he experienced a haunting encounter in the mansion as a boy in the book. This experience is a significant factor in Ben Yerushalayim’s return.

9

The history of the Marsten House

Hubie Marsten does not come into focus

The Marsten House, in general, does not have the same impact in the 2024 movie compared to Stephen King’s novel. The original story treats the old mansion as a living character in several ways, using its looming presence over ‘Salem’s lot as a constant reminder of the city’s dark history. Probably limited due to runtime, The movie scraps much of the history surrounding the home and its former owner, Hubie Marsten. While mentioned and teased, the movie fails to dive into Hubie’s murder-suicide and his connection to Barlow.

According to King’s book, Hubert “Hubie” Marsten was a mobster and a child predator who ended up taking refuge in Salem’s lot. Hubie’s corrupt nature continued as he came into contact with a man named “Breichen” (aka Barlow), essentially inviting the vampire to mine. Before his arrival, Hubie’s madness worsened, which led to him torturing his own wife, Birdie. She practically begged for her death to end the terror, so he shot Birdie before hanging himself. That said, the Marsten house remains a vessel for evil when Ben and Barlow come to town.

8

Susan Norton’s parents

The 2024 movie changes Susan’s mom and dad

As in the book, Susan Norton is presented as a key resident in Jerusalem’s court. While her initial introduction to Ben is adjusted a bit in the movie – meeting in the realtor’s office where she works as a secretary – it still leads to a romantic path for the two characters. King’s book allows Ben and Susan to take their relationship a little more slowlyEspecially when it involves Ben meeting Susan’s parents, Ann and Bill. Whereas Anne never warms up to Ben, Bill is welcoming and actually enjoys Ben’s presence before chaos reigns over the town.

Bill is not among Salem’s place characters for the 2024 remake, stating that Susan’s father was already dead before the events of the movie. Susan actually left in Boston and came home to Jerusalem’s lot when her dad got sick and ended up sticking around. Anne is present and still has hopes for Susan and Floyd Tibbits, but the biggest movie change comes in the form of Anne, who became Barlow’s new servant after Richard Straker’s death. Ann is even a significant threat during Salem’s places final showdown with Barlow.

7

Dr. Cody’s gender

Salem’s lot’s doctor is now a woman

Doctor Jimmy Cody is a pivotal character through a large part of Stephen King Salem’s place book, and the same can be said for the 2024 movie. The book portrays Dr. Cody as male, while the movie features Alfre Woodard in the role. Woodard spoke about Salem’s placeDr. Cody changes, revealing that the character was initially written as a man, as in the previous versions, before he changed to a woman in the remake. Aside from swapping the gender, the character’s place in the story isn’t too farfetched.

Dr. Cody’s fate has changed slightly, with Woodard’s character being shot and killed by Ann Norton at the drive-in in the third act of the movie, but the figure is still a significant ally to Ben and the others. Being involved in the mysterious deaths that plague the town, it becomes vital for Ben and Matthew Burke to find trusted residents who believe in the evil taking over the town. Man or woman, Dr. Cody quickly becomes an asset in theirs Short-lived effort to save Jerusalem’s lot.

6

Matthew Burke’s heart attack

The 2024 movie is a big subplot for Matt

One of the ways Dr. Cody gets so heavily involved in the strange happenings of the town is due to Matthew Burke. After meeting Mike Ryerson in his vampire form, Matt suffers a heart attack and is stuck in the hospital for the duration of the story. That said, the high school teacher still affects the story when he tries to help Ben, and seeing how his health draws to his doctor, Jimmy Cody, there is a way for another alliance. Oddly, Matt’s heart attack and health issues were cut from the movie, but he still meets a grim fate like the book.

Being stuck in the hospital leads Matt to become the researcher for how the group can fight back against Barlow and the growing army of vampires. sad, Matt never makes it out of the hospital because he dies before the book ends. The Salem’s place Remake movie keeps Matt out of the hospital, but he still ends up getting killed. After catching Mark breaking into the Marsten house, Matt is killed in the basement, and Mark is taken hostage by Straker.

5

Father Callahan was killed

The Max movie changes Callahan’s fate

Not every character featured in Stephen King’s Salem’s place The story gets enough screen time in Max’s movie. This is understandable because there are only so many stories and subplots that can share the spotlight for a movie in less than two hours. Still, the film takes some liberties with character fates, particularly with Father Callahan. The local priest becomes an ally in the film, just like in the novel, but his fate does not follow the original story unambiguously. instead, Father Callahan is killed when he encounters Barlow at the Petrie home, which is not in the book.

While Father Callahan tries to help Mark convince his parents about the vampires, his meeting with Barlow plays out differently. After Barlow overpowers Callahan and his diminishing faith, the vampire forces the priest to drink his blood to make him “impure.” Unable to get to his own church because of his condition, he takes the next bus out of the Jerusalem lot, leaving his city and the others to themselves. Interestingly, this is not the end of Callahan’s story, as he appeared in Stephen King’s. Dark Tower Series.

4

Mark’s final meeting with vampire Danny

Mark and Danny have another meeting

Mark’s first encounter with Danny after he turns into a vampire is one of the scariest sequences in Salem’s place. The movie includes the young vampire visiting Mark by appearing outside the boy’s window and receiving an invitation inside. Mark avoids an attack with his crucifix, but he also promises to save his friend. In fact, the movie expands on their friendship, as Mark is a relative newcomer to town and a target of bullies. Therefore, it makes sense for the movie to tie up loose ends between Mark and Danny.

After the death of his parents and Father Callahan, Mark hides in his tree house as various vampires try to get to him. Before you regroup with Ben and Dr. Cody, Mark goes on a solo mission by breaking into Straker and Barlow’s furniture storeWhere Danny attacks him. Granted, Mark is prepared and stabs Danny during the attack. The stake kills Danny for good, but Mark succeeds in setting his friend free so the boy can finally rest in peace.

3

Susan’s Vampire Fate

The circumstances surrounding Susan’s death have changed

Ben has encountered his fair share of tragedies in life, but he suffers more loss when he returns to Jerusalem’s lot in both the movie and the original book. Susan Norton ends up as one of Barlow’s victims in the novel after she accompanies Mark in investigating the Marsten House. The curiosity puts them both in danger, but while Mark eventually gets out alive, Susan is bitten and turned into a vampire, requiring Ben to kill her with a stake later in the story. The latest movie version of Susan meets the same fate, but it shakes out much differently.

Although Susan stays alive longer in Max Salem’s placeShe is not one of the survivors of the movie. When she returns home to warn her mother about what’s going on in town, she and Ben find Anne’s mind already warmed by Barlow. Even worse, Anne is using Floyd as her attacker, setting him up on his own daughter. Susan’s body is later found in the trunk of a car at the drive-in, revealing her vampire formBut before Ben or Dr. Cody can kill her, Ann intervenes. Ben gets another chance to kill Susan at the snack shop, where he succeeds this time.

2

The final showdown against Barlow

The big action has a new location

Based on the significance of the Marsten house over Salem’s placeIt would make sense to assume the final fight against Barlow would take place in the mansion. instead, The book presents Barlow’s defeat at the hands of Ben and Mark in the basement of Eve’s boarding house.. The movie, however, uses a different location for the final showdown, and it’s one that appears earlier in the film and has several callbacks in the book: the local drive-in.

The location ends where all the vampires, including Barlow, take refuge during the day. The residents remain in the trunks of cars while Barlow remains in his coffin, hidden in the back of a nearby delivery truck. In addition to being lurking with a shotgun, the vampires wake up as the sun goes down. Thankfully, Mark jumps into a car, knocks over the drive-in’s giant movie screen to allow the sun to destroy various vampires, and hits Anne with the car to save Ben. After killing Susan, Ben repays the favor by saving Mark and killing Barlow in the process.

1

Ben & Mark’s fate as the sole survivors

The 2024 movie does not include the book’s epilogue

The most significant change between Stephen King’s book and the 2024 movie is the ending sequence. The novel in particular begins with a prologue that tells of a man and a boy who fled from Jerusalem’s lot but feel the need to return. The couple are Ben and Mark, the only survivors of the story. As detailed in Salem’s places epilogue, Ben and Mark escape from Jerusalem’s lot after killing BarlowBut they return a year later to finish the job by killing the remaining vampires.

In order to do this, they start a brush fire to force the remaining vampires out of hiding by destroying what is left of the city. The Salem’s place Movie that ends on Max reveals that Ben and Mark leave town after killing Barlow, but there is no epilogue or fire story that suggests they intend to finish the job. It is possible the movie is leaving open the possibility of a Salem’s place Sequel, but either way, the fear will remain in Ben and Mark.