Bong Joon-ho’s favourite Stephen King adaptation: “I just loved the bone-chilling horror”
The iconic Korean film director Bong Joon-ho is beloved for his dark, versatile, genre-bending films. But long before Parasite became the first non-English speaking film to win the Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’, Bong had dreamed of making his own monster flick, much like Godzilla and King Kong. The Host, which follows a family searching for their youngest after she’s kidnapped by a creature dwelling in the Han River, was his answer to this. And, against all odds, it brought him to international acclaim. So, while most of his recent successes can’t be called out-and-out horror, he’s well-versed in the genre.
And, of course, when a filmmaker is a fan of horror, Stephen King is never far from their thoughts. King’s adaptations often feature in filmmakers’ favourite horror lists. But where most would place Carrie or The Shining in the top spot, Bong once again surprises us with his choice. Speaking to Film Comment, he listed his favourite entries in the horror genre. Among unique picks like The Man Who Stole the Sun and Frankenstein 90, he picks out Salem’s Lot as his favourite Stephen King adaptation.
A 1979 TV mini-series adaptation of King’s novel of the same name, the story follows a writer as he returns to his small hometown and finds it overrun by vampires. Directed by Tobe Hooper and starring David Soul and James Mason, it was relatively acclaimed at the time and has since become a cult classic. However, it never reached the heights of acclaim as the two iconic King adaptations that bookended its release.
Calling it the “scariest vampire film [he’s] ever seen”, Bong found Salem’s Lot a little earlier than he should have, like most films on his list, and it left its mark. “It was aired on TV during summer vacation when I was a middle-school student, and I just loved the bone-chilling horror I experienced while watching it alone in a dark room,” he explained. Like every horror aficionado, that adrenaline rush of terror excited and inspired him.
But it’s not even just the nostalgia that makes this a film Bong is fond of; he seems to have a genuine appreciation of its take on the vampire trope. So much so that he’s still not quite satisfied with what he saw: “I want to see a complete version—with the deleted scenes restored.” Undoubtedly, it’s a wish that many King fans also have, but instead, they’ve got numerous remakes of the original series and novel.
In 2004, TNT produced a remake with Rob Lowe, while 2024 saw Gary Dauberman create a Salem’s Lot feature film for Max. And, while it seems unlikely, it’s fun to imagine what a Bong Joon-ho adaptation of the story would look like. But maybe there’s space for him to return to horror with an alternative King source material.
