Following its world premiere at Beyond Fest on September 25, Salem's Lot has found a debut Rotten Tomatoes critical score based on 19 tabulated reviews. The latest adaptation of the iconic Stephen King novel is currently maintaining a 63% approval rating on the review aggregate, indicating that critics are generally divided on their feelings about the movie. While the score is likely to fluctuate leading up to and after its October 3 streaming premiere, this currently makes it the lowest-reviewed Salem's Lot adaptation behind the original 1979 and 2004 miniseries.

What This Means For The New Salem's Lot

Critics Find The Movie To Be A Disparate Mash Of Genres

Considering the extensive delays the movie encountered on its road to being released, the fact that Salem's Lot has debuted to such a mixed Rotten Tomatoes score may come as somewhat of a disappointment to King fans who were excited by the adaptation. That being said, while it may be the lowest-reviewed thus far of the main adaptations of King's book, it's not too far off from the 2004 miniseries, even if still well short of the 1979 one. See how the trio compare as of now on Rotten Tomatoes in the chart below:

Coming out of its Beyond Fest premiere, one of the biggest things critics ultimately took issue with the new Salem's Lot was how it approached adapting the book. Many have found it to be an underwhelming take on King's novel, instead being too focused on delivering popcorn scares rather than the insightful drama of a dying small town. Even the attempts at sincere drama have left many critics mixed, with Screen Rant's Alex Harrison writing the following in his Salem's Lot review:

Writer-director Gary Dauberman seems torn between the desire to make a compelling drama and a cool, scary movie. Far too often, the backstory and revealing moments we're treated to don't end up mattering all that much. Once someone finds themselves in a vampire-horror setpiece, it all goes out the window. The one real exception is Mark (Jordan Preston Carter), a young, genre-obsessed boy defined by his bottomless courage. Who he is always determines what he does, and he's the most consistently engrossing character because of that.

Our Take On Salem's Lot Rotten Tomatoes Score

There's Still A Chance The Film Will Be A Hit

Despite the disappointment of its low score, it doesn't seem likely it will ultimately hurt how Salem's Lot performs with viewers upon its Max release. Fans of King's novel and adaptations of his work have generally remained ive of the new film throughout its various delays, particularly after King himself shared on social media at various points his own for the movie. Furthermore, its Halloween-season release is sure to draw in many viewers on Max while they wait for Terrifier 3 and Smile 2 to release later in the month.

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