Movie Review: Pet Semetary
More years past than I like to admit, while visiting my
sister over summer vacation, I was introduced to the world of Stephen King. I’ve been a fan ever since. Devouring his books (although I’m currently a
bit behind in my reading) and watching the films based on his works. While King’s writings, with few exceptions,
don’t disappoint the adaptations based on them have been hit and miss prospects
at best. The original 1989 version of Pet Sematary, is one of those adaptations that, to put
it mildly, fell woefully short of expectations.
The 2019 Pet Sematary with
nowhere to go but up, again raised my expectations for another thrilling/scary
adaptation.
Stephen King/horror fans rejoice! Matt Greenberg and Jeff Buhler have done
Stephen King and Pet Sematary justice
in this reboot. Largely following the
original book storyline (there are a few tweaks here and there) the eerie,
supernatural world of the Creed family is brought to life in all its glory and
morbidity. Beautiful, bright cinematography expertly juxtaposed against creepy,
dark horror, exceptional lighting, all tied together with spectacular
foreshadowing and a brilliant musical score.
Pet Sematary 2019 is
visually and thematically dark, thrilling, and twisted fun. Plenty of amazing jump in your seat “gotcha”
moments. Even when you KNOW $#@! is about
to go sideways, all the expectation and bracing in the world fails and you
still react with heart pounding recoil and chills. Granted I’m a wuss when it comes to scary
movies, but Pet Sematary had me and
other audience members muttering under our collective breaths, swearing, and
hell no-ing throughout.
As with any good film, there’s good character development,
emotional context, dialogue, and relatability.
As with any good horror film the story, no matter how fantastical, the
characters’ actions, reactions, and emotions are grounded in reality.
A rousing round of kudos for the cast. Amy Seimetz (Stranger Things), Jason Clarke (I kept thinking he should know
better after Winchester), and John
Lithgow bring it and bring it hard. Fantastic
performances. No shock there. The real surprise
for me is Jete Laurence as Ellie. I’m
not familiar with this young actor, but she did an amazing job of going from
cute/typical kid to scary A.F.
Sometimes dead is better.
And sometimes remakes are superior.
Both hold true of Pet Sematary 2019. This film is raw, thrilling, suspenseful, and
creepy. It’s also a case study in
hitting up Zillow BEFORE buying a house (I’m just saying, could’ve saved a lot
of grief).
This is a remake done right. One that entertains and will stay with you
once you’ve left the theater. In the
mood for a good fright? Don your best
animal mask, form a procession, and pass the deadfall to the nearest theater
and catch Pet Sematary.
It’s a pulse
pounding 10 from me.
4/21/19 ADDENDUM:
Forgot to add, that while I normally advocate staying through the end credits of a film, here, I have to say do so with caution. The theme song that plays is a major earworm that will have you singing along in no time. Took me about four hours to get it out of my head....You've been warned!
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