Gary Dauberman’s Initial ‘Salem’s Lot’ Cut Was 3 Hours Long and Included Marsten House Opening

The long-awaited movie adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot from director Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home) is now available to stream on Max, unleashing a stylish vampire outbreak without much in the way of story. It turns out that there was a much longer cut of the film that Dauberman ultimately trimmed down for a leaner runtime.

The filmmaker revealed in a recent interview with Den of Geek, “My first cut was about three hours. There’s a lot left out. My first draft of the script is 180-odd pages or something because you’re trying to include everything. And a lot of it has to do with a lot of the secondary characters and stuff that I spoke about. So it was sad to see that stuff go, but it’s like a necessary evil.”

One of the key scenes trimmed? Ben Mears’ chilling encounter with Depression-era hitman Hubert Marsten in the eerie Marsten House, later purchased by Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward) for his antique shop. “In the book, Ben sneaks into the Marsten House, and he sees the ghost of Hubert Marsten,“ the director explained to Den of Geek.

Dauberman continues, “I shot that and it used to open the movie, but it seemed to muddy the waters for audiences; the ghost story within the vampire story. To me it’s so important because it’s why Ben believes the vampire stuff, but we’re not telling that story, so that was the hardest thing to cut because I love the sequence.”

What’s even more intriguing is that IMDb credits “Swamp Thing“ and Friday the 13th actor Derek Mears as Hubert, a perfect casting choice for the intimidating, eerie character. While the ghost may have conflicted with the vampire story, it would’ve fleshed out Ben Mears’ motivation for returning to his hometown. 

Here’s to hoping that Dauberman’s initial cut eventually gets a proper release.

In Salem’s Lot 2024, “Haunted by an incident from his childhood, author Ben Mears returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover the town is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire and his loyal servant.”

The cast includes Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, John Benjamin Hickey, Nicholas Crovetti, Jordan Preston Carter, William Sadler, Spencer Treat Clark, Cade Woodward, Debra Christofferson, and Pilou Asbaek.

Dauberman’s creative team on Salem’s Lot includes director of photography Michael Burgess (Annabelle Comes Home, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It), production designer Marc Fisichella (Ma, The Maze Runner), editor Luke Ciarrocchi (Glass, Split), composers Nathan Barr (The House with a Clock in Its Walls, The Great) and Lisbeth Scott (American Son, Tumble Leaf), costume designer Virginia Johnson (The New Mutants, Mile 22), and first assistant director Jeffrey “JP“ Wetzel (Malignant, Annabelle Comes Home).