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The new Stephen King film just transformed a 49-year-old horror hero into one of his most frightening characters
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The new Stephen King film just transformed a 49-year-old horror hero into one of his most frightening characters

The latest adaptation by Stephen King Salem’s property transformed one of the author’s earliest characters into a fearsome presence. There are now several adaptations of Salem’s propertyand each version made its own changes to the story and characters. For example, the 2004 version turned Father Callahan into Barlow’s servant, while the 2024 version turned Doctor Cody into a woman. Max’s adaptation of Salem’s propertybut also made one of the story’s heroes one of the most fearsome people in the entire lot.




Max’s adaptation of Salem’s property has made some changes to Stephen King’s book. The film cut out a number of characters and subplots and therefore had to condense the story quite a bit. This also meant that the film’s two main characters – Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter) and Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) – took on more responsibility than they originally had. Although these changes and cuts may have contributed to the disappointing ratings for Salem’s propertyIt also made a character an absolute threat compared to the book version and actually made her quite frightening.


Mark Petrie becomes a much more intense 12-year-old killer in Salem’s Lot 2024

Mark kills humans and vampires with ease and is far more fearless than his book counterpart


In Max’s adaptation of Salem’s propertyMark Petrie is much scarier than in the novel. In the book, Mark was a very capable 12 year old, but he was still a kid at heart. He knew about vampires and what rules they follow, but he was just as scared as anyone in this situation. At Max Salem’s propertyHowever, Mark is immediately ready to kill both vampires and humans without a second thought. When he realizes what is going on, Mark without hesitation kills Straker, Susan’s mother and several vampires.

Related

What happens to all the vampires in Salem’s possession after the 2024 film

2024’s Salem’s Lot ends on an optimistic note for Ben, Mark, and the town, but the novel’s epilogue and a short story completely change that.


There are really only two times that Mark shows any fear at all around Max Salem’s property. The first is when Barlow kills his parents, and even that moment was more about Mark’s anger than his fear. Then Mark becomes visibly disturbed when Barlow tries to kill him at the drive-in movie theater, a moment that anyone would have been afraid of. Otherwise, Max’s adaptation turned Mark Petrie into a horrific killing machine that killed vampires and humans indiscriminately. He’s an incredibly intense character and the fact that he’s only 12 makes him a little out of place Salem’s property‘s story.

Mark’s characterization seems to fit better with the various Stephen King stories

Mark’s fearlessness would fit into “IT”, “Children Of The Corn” or “The Long Walk”.

The Losers Club in IT (2017)


Mark’s fearlessness and ruthlessness in Max’s adaptation of Salem’s property would fit much more naturally into one of Stephen King’s more child-oriented stories. While the author is known for confronting the innocence of childhood with his own brand of horror, some of his works do this more than others. IT, The long walkAnd Children of the CornFor example, the main cast is mostly made up of child characters, and Mark Petrie would be perfectly at home in these stories. Salem’s propertySince “On the Other Hand” is really about the city itself and the people who call it home, Mark’s unusual intensity doesn’t sit well.

What happens to Mark Petrie after Salem’s lot ends

Mark Petrie and Ben Mears returned to Salem’s property a year later

Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter) and Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) leave Jerusalem's Lot in a car in Salem's Lot (2024)
Image via Max

After the end of Salem’s propertyAs Mark and Ben Mears drive away from the city and its remaining vampires, their story isn’t quite over yet. King’s novel had a prologue and an epilogue that explained that Mark and Ben fled to a town in Mexico and were spiritually healed with the help of a priest. The epilogue then revealed that a year after killing Barlow, Mark and Ben returned to Salem’s Lot and set the town on fire. One of King’s later short stories, One for the streetshowed that despite destroying the city with fire, they never managed to drive out the vampires.


However, if the version of Mark that appeared in Max’s adaptation of Salem’s Lot had existed, he would have had a much better chance of surviving the return to the Lot.

Apart from the fate of Lot himself and Father Callahan, Mark Petrie or Ben Mears never appeared again in Stephen King’s stories Salem’s property. It is unknown whether they survived their return to the Lot or whether the vampires there finally caught the last prey that could escape them. If the version of Mark that was featured in Max’s adaptation of Salem’s property Had he been there, however, he would have had a much better chance of surviving the return to the Lot. It’s hard to say whether Max Salem’s property changed Mark Petrie for better or worse, but it definitely made him more intimidating.


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