The terrible things that people will do for the right reasons …
Director(s): Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer
Writer(s): Jeff Buhler, Matt Greenberg, Stephen King (novel)
Cast: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jete Laurence, Obssa Ahmed, Alyssa Brooke Levine, John Lithgow
Synopsis
When Louis and Rachel Creed (Jason Clarke & Amy Seimetz) move to rural Maine with their children Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gabe, the family hopes it will be a fresh start for them all. When Ellie discovers a strange ‘pet sematary’ on their land, Jud (John Lithgow), a kindly neighbour, tells the Creed family that people in the town have been burying their pets there for generations.
However, there’s some mysterious land beyond the ‘pet sematary’ which is rumoured to resurrect the dead. When tragedy strikes the Creed family, Louis dares to discover if the rumours about what lies beyond the ‘pet sematary’ are true …
Main review
‘Sometimes dead is better’ is the phrase uttered a few times during Pet Sematary (as well as being plastered all over the film’s marketing), and as a distillation of the film’s themes and tone, it’s very apt; there’s no doubt that Pet Sematary has an appropriately oppressive tone. Many horror films struggle to build the right atmosphere. However, Pet Sematary always feels like it’s holding back its full potential, particularly given how some of the film’s underlining themes are powerfully distressing.
Many of Stephen King’s stories work so well, particularly on paper, because he taps into some very primal fears within his storytelling. Pet Sematary plays on the most basic of fears; the worst nightmare that a parent can imagine, and what someone might do in that situation, if the power of resurrection was within their grasp. The script is certainly competent in the way that it deals with this; from the set up, all the way to the denouement.
In this context, Pet Sematary deals better with the emotional horror that the character experience, rather than the actual horror beats presented to the audience. Many of the actual ‘scare’ pay-offs are quite predictable. It’s a real shame, because so much of the atmospheric build up works so well, but the directors never really stick the landing. In fact, this is probably true of the entirety of the third act as well.
Still, as far as performances go, the cast are excellent. One of the things that Pet Sematary does right is its casting. In particular, Jete Laurence is asked to do so much that would challenge an adult actor, let alone a child. There’s something of Linda Blair’s Reagan from The Exorcist about her, and along side Church the cat, Ellie is the real core of the film’s horror.
Pet Sematary is quite a different film to the 1989 original and it does make some crucial changes. The 2019 film is effective in its nihilism, and the way it weaves the themes of grief and desperation (into a plot that might otherwise seem hokey) is impressive. Still, Pet Sematary always feels like it’s not running at hundred percent, and there are story threads that are built up, but then don’t seem to go anywhere. As horror films go, it’s adequate rather than astonishing.
Pros
- Like all the better Stephen King adaptations, the directors have been able to infuse the film with a palpable sense of dread throughout.
- The script does a good job of underlining how grief can drive good people to make very bad decisions.
- There are horror beats in the film that are genuinely disturbing.
- Jete Laurence is excellent in a role that asks a lot of a child actor, in terms of emotional range.
Cons
- The third act is a bit underwhelming
- Some curious narrative threads don’t seem to go anywhere.
- Some of the scares are a bit predictable.
In a nutshell …
As a horror film within its own right, Pet Sematary is certain functional, with a harrowing emotional core. Yet, given that the source material is one of Stephen King’s darkest stories, the film never feels like has the complete strength of its own convictions. Creepy, but not a classic.
Cinema and silliness 