Our piece about the unknown future of “Salem’s Lot” might have been noticed by Stephen King. Last night he went on Twitter to further discuss the status of the film:
Between you and me, Twitter, I've seen the new SALEM'S LOT and it's quite good. Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it's embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the fucking things.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson sent out a statement, saying “No decision has been made about the film’s future distribution plans.”
No decision? It’s been four years since production wrapped on this one. Just release it already. Make it a Max thing, at the very least. The more WB holds it back, the further the film will accumulate toxic buzz. And, by all accounts, it’s not that bad of a film.
Here’s a reaction that was sent over to me last night from our resident test screening attendee —
I don’t get it. It was very good! Very much in line with the director’s previous films, in terms of style and scares, but the way it was crafted feels like a lot of thought went into how to bring the story to life, with some new additions. The camerawork was the most impressive part.
It’s no secret that people are wondering if this will be another tax write-off from WB. The studio, led by CEO David Zaslav, has been fearless in its attempts to make completed films disappear — “Batgirl” and “Coyote vs Acme.”