Pet Sematary-2019

Director Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer

Starring Jason Clarke, John Lithgow

Scott’s Review #923

Reviewed July 26, 2019

Grade: B

In the age of movie remakes, especially within the horror genre, it was only a matter of time before Pet Sematary, first released in 1989, would resurface with its fangs bared.

Paramount Pictures presents Pet Sematary (2019), a by-the-numbers affair that’s perfect for viewing on a late Saturday night.

It is an improvement over the disappointing ’89 version, but hardly recreates the genre, feeling more like a remake than offering much in the way of new storytelling or frightening effects.

The conclusion is somewhat disappointing, offering a hybrid of slasher and zombie genres.

To compare either film to the chilling and suspenseful page-turner written by esteemed novelist Stephen King would be ridiculous. The book is a quick read that will leave its reader breathless and scared, perhaps even fearing their pets, so the bar is set way too high for a cinematic offering to match up with.

The book delves much more into the feelings and emotions of all the principal characters, something that is severely limited in the film.

The Creed family, consisting of Louis (Jason Clarke), Rachel (Amy Seimetz), and their children, Ellie and Gage, relocates from bustling Boston, Massachusetts, to rural Maine, allowing Louis the opportunity to practice medicine at a university hospital.

Their friendly neighbor Jud Crandall (John Lithgow) befriends Ellie after she stumbles across a funeral procession of children taking a deceased dog to a cemetery called Pet Sematary.

He warns her and Rachel that the woods are dangerous. When tragedy strikes the family, the cemetery unleashes a supernatural force contained in an ancient burial ground that sits beside it.

The first half of the film is superior to the second as the buildup offers more perilous moments than when all hell breaks loose. Mysterious is when an accident victim in Louis’s care dies and begins to show up in his visions, warning him of something sinister.

The victim is mangled and bloody, and quite frightening are these foreboding scenes. When a curious Ellie traipses throughout the woods with curious wondermen, the audience is nervous about what (or who) she might stumble upon.

The film also earns praise for the suspenseful birthday party scene, which culminates in a grisly death. The scene begins cheerfully with lively party music and festive balloons amid a warm summer afternoon in Maine.

In a clear example of foreshadowing, earlier in the film, Louis curses the truck drivers who drive recklessly past his house at high speed. Excitedly running after their cat named Church, Ellie and Gage pay no attention to the looming truck with the texting driver until it is too late.

The scene drips with good terror.

After the speeding tractor-trailer, the predictability of the surface strikes down one family member. Jud has already warned Louis that “sometimes dead is better”, but we know Louis will surrender to temptation out of desperation and tempt the evil spirits.

When the once-dead character returns with a droopy eye and calm, devious demeanor, the film becomes a standard slasher film and is no longer as compelling.

The final thirty minutes feel very rushed, as if the careful pacing of the buildup is all for naught.

As in most horror films, now deemed a cliché, the last sequence often allows for a sequel if box-office profits are substantial enough. I do not recall a similar ending in the chilling novel or any reference to the family living out their days as a family of the undead.

The apparent attempt at a zombie reference was unsatisfying and much different from what I expected.

From a casting point of view, Jason Clarke (usually cast in supporting roles) gives a strong performance as the main character. He is a good father figure and provides charisma to the film. Well-mannered but also somewhat outdoorsy and a “regular joe,” he is intelligent and humorous with the kids.

The child actors are fine, but hardly the main attraction, and Seimetz as the mother, Rachel, is not the best casting choice.

She plays the challenging role much too brooding and angry for my taste, especially given that she is written as the most sympathetic of all the characters.

Pet Sematary (2019) is a satisfactory horror offering with a solid first half that teeters into difficult-to-believe territory rather quickly.

A stalwart veteran like Lithgow helps immensely, lending the film some respectability, and a child actor cast in a pivotal role is enough to avoid ruining the experience.

There is little reason to see the film a second time, but it is recommended to snuggle with the King novel for some good scares.