The new movie version of Stephen King’s classic vampire novel “Salem’s Lot” remains largely faithful to the original story, but leaves out one major plot element from the book.
Released in 2024 by Max, the “Salem’s Lot” movie follows Ben Mears and Mark Petrie as they battle the vampire Kurt Barlow and his followers who have invaded the town of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine. In the film, Ben and Mark successfully defeat Barlow and escape the vampire-infested town alive.
However, King’s 1975 novel includes an epilogue that reveals more of Ben and Mark’s story. One year after the initial vampire outbreak, the pair return to Salem’s Lot with a bold plan. They start a large brush fire in the surrounding woods, intending to draw the remaining vampires out into the sunlight where they can be destroyed.
This daring epilogue was omitted from the new movie adaptation. Without it, the film leaves Ben and Mark’s narrative unfinished as they simply drive away to safety. Some fans speculate this could set up opportunities for a sequel movie further developing Ben and Mark’s return to the town.
King’s stories also refer to Ben and Mark’s fate later on. The short story “One for the Road” implies their fire eliminated many vampires but not all in Salem’s Lot. And in the “Dark Tower” novel series, it’s revealed Ben died in his 50s with Mark delivering his eulogy, showing they survived their second vampire encounter.
While streamlining the story, the movie leaves key parts of Ben and Mark’s full journey as depicted in Stephen King’s original “Salem’s Lot” novel and expanded fictional universe untold on screen. This presents possibilities for continuing their story in future films.
