The classic Stephen King novel Salem’s Lot has never had a big screen treatment yet, but it”s getting closer as horror writer Gary Dauberman has been named director of the New Line adaptation according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dauberman wears two hats for this production. He is also writing the screenplay of the 1975 King vampire story.
New Line seems to have confidence in Dauberman’s familiarity with King’s novels, as he has already penned the screenplays for It and It, Chapter Two. His directorial coming-out party was held last year, as he helmed the film Annabelle Comes Home.
James Wan, Roy Lee and Mark Wolper have signed on as producers of the film, which does not yet have a release date.
The story behind Salem’s Lot, as all horror fans know, revolves around a successful author who returns to his hometown to write about an ancient mansion. But then, of course, things get weird.
The mansion has been purchased by a mysterious European and, before the writer can blink, townspeople begin to transform into vampires. Is there a connection? Of course there is.
The writer rounds up several unaffected people in town and struggles to combat the terror gripping his old hometown. It all comes to a head during a climactic battle within the old mansion itself.
The novel was adapted in a TV movie in 1979 starring David Soul and directed by horror legend Tobe Hooper.
New Line has not yet hinted at a specific date for the film to haunt local theaters, so keep reading Horror News Network for updates.
