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Pet Sematary (2019)
(Paramount Pictures)
By Lucas Allen
Maine’s own Stephen King has become a Hollywood icon, with his books adapted for both film and television. One of them, his 1983 novel “Pet Sematary,” gets the second adaptation treatment exactly 30 years after the first filmed version was released. Directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer have taken it upon themselves the challenge of trying to build new ground from what King had already put on paper.
The Creed family moves from Boston to the small town of Ludlow, Maine, for a brand-new life. Louis (Jason Clarke) is a doctor working at UMaine, while his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) cares for their daughter Ellie (Jete Laurence) and son Gage (Hugo and Lucas Lavoie). Tragedy strikes when the pet cat Church is killed on the road near their house, and the parents try to figure out how to shield the kids from it. Their old next-door neighbor Jud (John Lithgow) introduces Louis to a nearby pet cemetery where generations of townsfolk buried their pets. Beyond that is a gloomy, ancient burial ground that has the power to bring a freshly dead corpse back to life.
Louis makes the rational decision to bury the cat in the powerful ground, and it returns to Ellie without her knowing what really happened. However, the cat starts acting more aggressive to the point of being monstrous. Tthen a second family tragedy occurrs, putting a grief-stricken Louis on a darker path that leads to one terrifying moment after another.
Whether or not you liked the 1989 original, you will find something different about this new version. The filmmakers attempt to make their film fresh and different by deviating a little further from the original book as much as possible. Fans of the book may not like some of the changes presented, but there’s enough of the original that’s acceptable for any King fan.
The first act is a slow burn, and some viewers may not be sure if it will get going at some point. But once the cat dies near the end of the second act, the horror element starts to get underway. It then builds to a terrifyingly suspenseful third act that’s scarier than anything in those recent low-budget PG-13 horror films. Along the way, there are moments where its reminiscent of classic golden-age horror films with spooky, foggy atmosphere and gothic-style elements. All in all, the directors seem to really get the genre as a whole.
While the acting in the ’89 film was often criticized as flat and unconvincing, the acting in this version is a major improvement. Clarke is great as a father going through different emotional phases in the story before heading towards crazy desperation. Seimetz plays the overly scared wife with the right level of commitment not usually seen in this kind of film. Lithgow is also very good as the old man haunted by both the scary history and his own past. You also have to give credit to the children delivering better-than-average child acting that you don’t normally expect.
The new “Pet Sematary” may not be as satisfying as the recent It, but this further cement King’s legacy as horror writer-turned-Hollywood cash-cow. Stylish and scary, this has the right amount of creepiness that’s good for any horror fan. It wouldn’t be surprising if the other author’s works like “Cujo” and “Silver Bullet” get the second adaptation treatment.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for horror violence, bloody images, and some language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
