Pet Semetary (2019 Review)
Pet Semetary Gives Us Everything we Loved from the Original with a Fresh Coat of Paint.
One of my favorite Stephen King movies growing up was the original Pet Semetary from 1989. 20 years later we’re treated to a remake of that classic with a few twists tossed in to make the whole thing new again. Now, I know a few of you are already recoiling in horror at the idea of a remake, but coming from someone who adored the original, trust me when I say, “it’s time.” A fresh coat of paint manages to make a tremendous difference as directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer share their take on the classic horror story from one of the true master of the genre. True, it’s not the most faithful adaptation, but even King himself gave it his seal of approval, and that’s saying something.
Pet Semetary follows a small family that moves out the middle of nowhere New England. As the old saying goes though, “creepy stuff happens in nowhere.” What starts as a refreshing change of pace for them soon turns terrifying when they discover a seemingly harmless animal burial ground on their property that the town lays their pets to rest in. That alone would be enough to make any normal person probably “nope” on out of there, but being that the patriarch (Jason Clarke) is a doctor and a man of science, he doesn’t seem too concerned about it. Soon he learns that the cemetery (or semetary) is hardly what it seems when his kindly old neighbor (John Lithgow) lets him in on a dark secret. Those buried just beyond the titular Pet Semetary will return to life. However, those that do come back, come back wrong. That being said, it wouldn’t be much of a horror movie if those warnings didn’t fall on deaf ears.
Jason Clarke has really grown on me as an actor over the years, but I was a little wary about him being cast in Pet Semetary, given how poorly his last horror movie went (Winchester). However, this time around though he finds himself given a much more grounded and subtle character to work. As much as Pet Semetary is a movie about the horrors that a family endures, he’s the cornerstone of the story which is both a good thing and a bad thing. While Clarke is an exceptional actor, he lacks the charisma to really draw the audience in. Luckily, the rest of his family more than makes up for this, especially when it comes to his two children (Jeté Laurence and the Lavoie twins, Hugo and Lucas). They add just enough humanity to his character to make it clear he does have something to lose and set the stakes high from early on for him. Thanks to this, Clarke proves to be an excellent choice to serve as the protagonist.
There are definitely a few differences between this horror remake and the 1989 film (much less the source material). While hardcore King fans might be shocked and dismayed to see such liberties taken with it, this made the new film well worth watching in my opinion. Who wants to see exactly the same film over again? Kölsch and Widmyer instead capture the spirit of the original and focus on that rather than playing paint by numbers with predetermined plot points. Don’t worry though, because this new Pet Semetary still has a lot of the elements we all loved from the original. Church the cat is back and there’s still an incredibly creepy kid in it. Even that classic line “sometimes dead is better” is tossed back in there (along with a few other sequences I don’t want to spoil for those who haven’t seen the original). For me, this new Pet Semetary manages to check off all the boxes I was hoping for while having enough new elements to keep me guessing, which is exactly what I was hoping for.
As far as the horror elements go in the new Pet Semetary, it’s a little hit or miss. A lot of the scenes pack quite a punch to them, but given that I’m much older than I was when I saw the 1989 original I felt as though it didn’t hit me quite as hard. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if you supposedly know what’s coming next, it doesn’t make Pet Semetary any less foreboding. It’s not quite as gut-wrenching to watch as I found the original, but it is a horror film that turned out to be pretty damn satisfying, especially for a remake. Fans of the original will appreciate Pet Semetary for it’s welcomed blend of old and new elements. Those with delicate dispositions will probably find it to be nightmarish in the best possible way.
Of course, the big question is going to be whether this new Pet Semetary is better than the original. That’s not a question I feel I can answer though, because while they’re essentially the same movie they’re both very different from each other. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the original thanks to nostalgia, but I wasn’t unhappy with the new one in the slightest. There are enough new elements to make it refreshing, while it still embraces everything I enjoyed so much about the old one. I guess my answer is that if you liked the original, you’ll probably really enjoy this remake. If not, well, you’ll still probably like the new Pet
