Pet Sematary isn’t a horror film for everyone despite the name recognition of Stephen King and this being a remake of one of his better film adaptations. A lot of moviegoers have come to expect a bit of levity with their thrills and a bit of a break from the dread every so often, but Pet Sematary is a film that embraces terror to the fullest. This a serious horror film and this is what horror should be. Bad things happen to good people with no hope of redemption, salvation, or catharsis. A sense of hopelessness pervades every frame. Maybe this is why Pet Sematary earned a “C+” CinemaScore during its opening weekend. Perhaps audiences weren’t expecting to be engulfed in so much turmoil – an essential element explored in King’s novel. Co-directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer “get” the material and work tirelessly to give life to King’s vision. They succeed and, in doing so, craft a profoundly uncomfortable production.
1989’s Pet Sematary shares the same sense of dread, but I think the time has allowed it to be viewed more for camp rather than the severity of the horror at play. The compelling aspect of the book and these two film incarnations is that it looks at a compelling moral dilemma. It looks at how these characters deal with death and what we might do if we had a way to reverse that trauma, even if their loved one wouldn’t come back like the person they once were. This is an aspect of the story that has aged well, and it still makes for not only captivating horror but also drama.
For Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) and his family – wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz), daughter Ellie (Jete Laurence), and son Gage (twins Hugo and Lucas Lavoie) – moving to a small rural Maine town represent a welcome reprieve from the high-pressure expectations of Boston. Here in Ludlow, they have a massive piece of property that includes extensive woods. Their neighbor, a good-hearted but somewhat odd man, named Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), becomes friendly with the family, developing a special attachment to Ellie and her cat, Church. Things seem to be going along nicely until Halloween when Church is killed by a speeding truck. Louis is reluctant to tell Ellie about her pet’s death, and Jud offers an “alternative.” Beyond the “Pet Sematary”, where most of Ludlow’s deceased animals are buried, lies a place of dark, mysterious magic. Anything entombed there will return to life. Although skeptical of the old man’s assertions, Louis decides to give it a try. The next day, Church comes home, but he’s not the same animal. His fur is matted. He smells. And his kind, warm disposition has been supplanted by something cold and vicious. After the cat attacks her, Ellie bans it from her room. Experiencing grave misgivings about what he did, Louis elects to kill the cat but has a last-minute change-of-heart. Instead, he transports it a long distance from Ludlow and releases it into the wild. This act has fateful – and fatal – ramifications.
Much like the original film, the remake of Pet Sematary breaks some cardinal rules that most horror fans dare not break, but they show you how far they’re willing to go by doing so. This is a film where children aren’t safe from death or committing a vile act of their own and pet lovers never like to see a precious animal bite the dust, but this also happens here. None of this is a secret if you’ve read the book or seen the original but writer Jeff Buhler has made changes, and some are small while others are significant. One of them was given away in the trailer, and this switch up works better than I thought it would. It lacks the surprise and face of innocence mixed with horror that little Gage’s return does but enough time is spent building the relationships that we can also get behind the new bait and switch. It also allows the remake not just to be a total retread of the original. It changes a few of the rules and mostly succeeds.
Pet Sematary offers a few obligatory jump-scares (mostly involving the speeding trucks that also provided those jump moments in the original) to shock viewers, but the movie thrives as a result of the carefully constructed sense of doom that permeates the film. This is a dark motion picture, but there is a sense of style in its darkness. It’s not just dark and brooding to fake the horror; it’s very much a part of its DNA. Everything about Pet Sematary intends to disquiet, and it does the job admirably.
By casting lesser-known performers and unknowns, the Creed family is allowed to feel real. Jason Clarke has been in his fair share of films, but he’s not a distracting presence, and he still has an everyman quality that makes you relate to the highs and lows of the character. Even John Lithgow isn’t distracting as Jud Crandall because he disappears into the role. I’m sure there will be debate over who is better in this role (Fred Gwynne made it somewhat iconic in the original), but Lithgow more than holds his own. In the case of the majority of the cast, we connect with these people almost immediately because of their ordinariness and, although most viewers will know (or at least suspect) what is to come, we can’t help but hope they’ll find their way to some happy ending.
As a horror fan, I was quite taken aback by Pet Sematary. There are some pacing issues and moments when things can tend to drag, but I respected the film for being a well-crafted exploration of evil and depravity. There is very little joy to be had in Pet Sematary and, again, this is what most horror fans believe horror should be. If you’re looking for an unnerving and faithful adaptation of King’s story, this is it. Just don’t expect to walk out with a smile on your face.
