High Point University

‘Pet Sematary’ is an average horror film without the charm of the original

By Jack Murphy// A&E Editor

Another year, another horror movie remake and this time in the form of Stephen King’s 1983 novel and 1989 film “Pet Sematary.” This iteration of “Pet Sematary” is directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer and stars Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz as Louis and Rachel Creed, Jeté Laurence as Ellie Creed and John Lithgow. If you’re unaware, “Pet Sematary” is about the Creed family, who are moving to a new house in the woods of Maine. In the woods is a creepy cemetery built specifically for kids to bury their pets, and there’s an Indian burial ground behind the Pet Sematary that can bring living things back from the dead, which contributes to the horror aspects of the movie. The 1989 version of the film is better than most of King’s film adaptions, but that’s not saying much, and after rewatching it in preparation for the remake, it’s not very good. Alas, the same could be said for its 2018 remake.

The biggest positive of “Pet Semetary” is that the acting is pretty good, leaps and bounds better than the original, which is riddled with horrible acting. Amy Seimetz and Jason Clarke are convincing in their roles as a mother and father taking care of their two young children and trying to adapt to this new environment. They carry this movie along with Laurence, who plays their nine-year-old daughter Ellie. If you’re unaware of what happens in the second half of “Pet Semetary” please skip the following paragraph, and continue at the next paragraph if you want to avoid potential spoilers. However, if you watched any of the trailers, it’s more then likely been spoiled for you already.

In the original film, their toddler son, Gage, is killed by a semi truck not paying attention and going too fast down the road outside their home. Since Louis already buried his daughter’s cat at the burial ground and it came back, and because he was that grief-stricken, he digs up his son, takes him to the burial ground, buries him there, resulting in the son coming back. This time, Ellie gets hit by the truck and follows the same formula. Making the change from a resurrected toddler to a resurrected nine-year-old works a lot better. I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that little girls are really creepy or that they made some really smart changes with the character, but overall, Laurence’s performance elevates the second half of the film from being a mediocre horror film to something better. The same can’t be said for the character of Jud Crandall.

Jud Crandall is the nice elderly neighbor who lives across the street from the Creed’s and is the one who introduces Louis Creed (Clarke) to the Indian burial ground after the family cat dies. Crandall was played by Fred Gwynne in the original film and is by far the best part of the entire film. If you’re a fan of “South Park,” then you more than likely know about the farmer guy who tells characters not to go down that road or that slope. Well, he’s a parody of Jud Crandall from the film, and John Lithgow had the impossible of task of following Gwynne’s performance. He’s just repeating some of the lines from the original without the hilarious accent that made the original so much better. 

“Sometimes, dead is better” or “Don’t go down that road; that road has a dark history” are a few lines Gwynne says with his accent. What the accent is, is unclear because it’s that odd, but it’s that wonderful. Lithgow doesn’t add anything to the role.

However, that disappointment doesn’t compare to how they handled Rachel’s deceased stepsister, Zelda. When I tried to think about things that have seriously scared me in the past, Zelda from the original really got to me. In the film, Zelda died of spinal meningitis when Rachel was a little girl and has haunted Rachel ever since. Zelda was played by a guy with a lot of prosthetics on his face and back and looks horrifying. Watching the film all these years later, Zelda is so ominous and frightening to me and remains a dark memory of my childhood. 

“I’m going to twist your back like mine, so you’ll never get out of bed again,” said Zelda terrifyingly. In the remake, they got a teenage girl to play Zelda, and the makeup is, admittedly, well done, but she’s only used for cheap jump scares and nothing more. The same can be said for a majority of the scares in this film, as they are mostly cheap jump scares that, at first, startle anyone, but once you’re accustomed to them, the effect wears off. Also, the kids with the masks and drums that appear in every form of marketing are only in the film for one minute and 30 seconds. They are never explained and have nothing to do with the film, which is incredibly obnoxious.

“Pet Sematary” is an average big-budget horror film filled to the brim with stupid jumpscares, some cool imagery and good performances. While it is better than the original, it’s missing the charm of the original. “Pet Sematary” is just banking off the success of the “It” remake and nothing more. Please go see “Shazam!” instead; it’s a much better movie and way more fun. And if you are insisting on seeing a horror film, go see “Us” if you haven’t already. I give “Pet Sematary” a “C-.”

“Pet Sematary” is the remake of the 1989 book. Photo by Paramount Pictures