Stephen King’s bloody vampire movie finally gets release date, but there’s a catch

After years of being stuck in development hell, Stephen King’s long-awaited vampire movie, Salem’s Lot, has a premiere date in its sights. Sort of.

Horror movie lovers just got another project to add to their watch lists as a new movie version of Stephen King‘s novel Salem’s Lot finally has a timeframe for its premiere.

New Line Cinema, the studio producing King’s work, first announced Salem’s Lot was in production back in April 2019. Filming began in September 2021, and, due to the need for additional photography, it wrapped in late May/early June 2022.

No other news was announced surrounding the movie until August 23, 2024, when the streaming service Max confirmed Salem’s Lot will be released in October 2024. It doesn’t have a cemented premiere date at this time.

Max

The movie has spent quite a while in release limbo. It was supposed to come out on September 9, 2022, but was then delayed to April 21, 2023, due to Hollywood shuffling around releases after the global shutdown pushed everything back.

In October 2023, Warner Bros. announced that Salem’s Lot wouldn’t premiere in theaters but would instead be streamed through their streaming service as part of a ” growing need for Max content.”

With no premiere date in sight going into 2024, King himself addressed the movie’s shelved state in February, writing on X/Twitter, “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 f**king things.”

Though Salem’s Lot now has a release window for its home on Max, it will be shown in theaters in the United Kingdom and Ireland starting October 11, 2024.

There’s a chance Max may drop the movie the same weekend as its international premiere, but they may not want to compete with Terrifier 3, as it comes out that same day.

Because of their haunting plots, King’s movies typically come out during the month of Halloween, so it would be surprising if the studio defied tradition.

For more scares, check out our guides to the best horror movies on Amazon Prime Video and horror movies on Disney Plus. You can also take a look at all the other new movies that are coming soon.