Fans of Stephen King novels will be the first ones to tell you that his brilliant written words, for one reason or another, rarely translate well into movie form. Of course, there are exceptions such as The Shining (1980) and Christine (1983). Those rarities aside, the film adaptations have left hopeful fans feeling letdown attempt after attempt. The Dark Tower (2017) was suppose to be the project to give audiences something to look forward to but might’ve been one of the larger disappoints yet thanks to director/writer Nikolaj Arcel’s “creative liberties”. Then came It (2017) and creepy clown smiles quickly appeared on the faces of fans and even critics. Genuine hope has finally found its way to the forefront once again. Now comes a retelling of yet another King classic, but where will Pet Sematary land in terms of satisfaction?
In order to get away from the stress of big city life in Boston, Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) moves his family to a quaint little town in Maine in the hopes of a simpler, slower life. With his wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two children, Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and Gage (Hugo/Lucas Lavoie), the Creeds settle into their rural new life. When the family cat is killed, Jud (John Lithgow), a lifelong resident of these parts, leads Louis to a specific burial location to lay the pet to rest. These unholy grounds will resurrect anything that is buried there but the catch is that it doesn’t come back to our world fully intact. The Creeds are in for a rude awakening as the supernatural will change their lives forever.
Pet Sematary meets expectations, doesn’t exceed them, and here’s why that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Co-directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer have the unenviable task of being the ones tasked with dusting off a classic and making it into a feature that’s appealing to today’s discerning moviegoer. The first thing that they needed to do was to secure a solid task. Check. With Jason Clarke pretty much front and center for the majority of the film, he gives an admirable performance as well as wide-reaching covering a bevy of emotions. John Lithgow, Amy Seimetz and the others were decent but nothing really special.
The commercials and trailers give a very chilling vibe and sticking with the R-rating is another aspect that could actually help this film. There’s no doubt that there is an absolute feeling of impending doom and eeriness. The problem is that Pet Sematary just isn’t that frightening. There are a handful of pretty well-telegraphed “jump scares” and it does have a few graphic moments. On the whole though, there’s nothing that separates this from pack of horror hopefuls before it.
If you want to be disturbed, frightened or have adrenaline rushing through your body during tense moments, Pet Sematary will leave you high and dry. Fifteen years ago, this adaptation would have done very well in the box office and probably with critics. Now, this comes off as an average movie that isn’t quite worthy of me recommending it as a must-see for those that appreciate the genre. I’d consider this as a horror starter kit type of movie that won’t have lingering effects one way or the other. Still though, if you’ve got a taste for an offering with a little bite to it, Pet Sematary could be for you. See it in theaters now.
