Salem’s Lot Ending, Explained

Salem’s Lot is a supernatural horror movie written and directed by Gary Dauberman. It’s based on the 1975 novel by Stephen King. It stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Bill Camp, Jordan Preston Carter, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Treat Clark and William Sadler. Surprisingly, this is the first big screen adaptation of the book, following miniseries iterations from 1979 and 2004. The story focuses on a writer who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot to write about his childhood. But, he discovers the presence of vampires.

The movie was delayed several times, but eventually had its world premiere as the opening film at the Beyond Fest on September 25, 2024, but it wasn’t released in theaters in the United States, and landed on HBO Max instead on October 3, 2024. However, the UK released it in theaters on October 11. Salem’s Lot received mixed reviews, with a critics’ score of 45% and 40% rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

What Is Salem’s Lot About?

Salem’s Lot‘s new adaptation sees a writer called Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot, seeking inspiration for a book about his childhood. Upon his arrival, he meets Susan Norton (Mackenzie Leigh), a local woman who dreams of leaving town to get away from her overbearing mother. Elsewhere, high school student Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter) is dealing with the local school bully, but is offered support from teacher, Matt Burke (Bill Camp).

A man called Straker (Pilou Asbæk) opens up an antique store in the town and moves into an abandoned house with a history of murders to its name. He has a large coffin delivered to the house and puts it in the basement, and he kidnaps one of Mark’s friends, Ralphie (Cade Woodward), and sacrifices him to his master, who is a vampire called Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward). A search party proves to be unsuccessful in their attempts to locate the boy and the blame is put on Ben, as a newcomer to the town.

Later on, an unseen creature attacks Ralphie’s brother Danny (Nicholas Crovetti) and he later dies from Pernicious Anemia. After his funeral, Danny rises from his coffin as a vampire, and bites the gravedigger Mike (Spencer Treat-Clark). Matt bumps into Mike at a bar, and takes him home with him as he seems worse for wear. He suspects he’s been turned into a vampire and seeks Ben and Susan’s help. They are joined by Dr Cody (Alfre Woodard) and Sheriff Gillespie (William Sadler) to examine Mike’s dead body and figure out what’s going on. Later that night, Mike returns a vampire, but Matt is able to fight him off with a cross. Elsewhere, Danny tries to trick Mark into letting him into the house, but Mark fends him off.

Mark researches the best way to kill vampires in Salem’s Lot, and the following day, Dr. Cody is informed that Danny and Ralphie’s mother has been found deceased from the same ailment that killed her son. After finding out that Mike’s body has vanished, Cody confronts Matt, and informs her, Ben, and Susan about the vampires and how to defeat them. Mark and Matt break into the abandoned house to confront Barlow, but they get locked in the basement by Straker. Barlow bites Matt and Straker captures Mark. Elsewhere, Ben, Susan, and Dr. Cody investigates Danny’s mother’s body at the morgue. However, she jolts up and bites Dr. Cody, but is taken down by a cross.

How does Salem’s Lot End?

Dr. Cody prevents herself from turning into a vampire by injecting herself with a rabies shot. Barlow’s vampires go on a spree and kill all the residents of the town. The following day, Mark escapes and kills Straker, and takes shelter in the church. Ben, Susan and Cody visit the town’s priest, Father Callaghan (John Benjamin Hickey), about the best way to proceed, while Mark arrives to tell them what just happened with Barlow. They visit the house and are attacked by Matt, who has turned into a vampire. Ben kills him with a stake, and with the town now surrounded by vampires, Sheriff Gillespie tries to leave the town, while Ben and Susan visit her mother to warn her of what’s happening. However, Susan’s mother reveals she has taken over Straker’s role as the human servant to Barlow and Susan is subsequently bitten by a vampire. Mark’s parents are ambushed and killed by Barlow, and Mark flees and hides in his treehouse after all his former classmates have now turned into vampires. Ben takes the soon-to-be vampire, Susan, to the church, which is protected from the vampires. Cody is unable to cure Susan, and she finally turns and flees and Ben chases after her and is attacked by the vampire residents.

The adaptation of one of Stephen King’s best books reaches a crescendo when Mark searches for Barlow and breaks into Straker’s antique store, where he kills Danny and is found by Ben and Cody, and they realize the vampires are sheltering at the local drive-in movie theater, and using the cars as coffins. They locate Susan and prepare to kill her, but they are shot at by her mother, and Cody is killed. The sun is setting, and the vampires launch an attack on Ben. Mark runs down Susan’s mother and destroys the theater screen, which exposes the vampires to sunlight and kills them all. As night falls, Barlow comes out of his coffin and attacks Mark. Ben kills Susan and saves Mark, and also kills Barlow with a stake. With the whole town dead after the vampire massacre, Ben and Mark drive out of the town of Jerusalem’s lot.