Pet Sematary

I have never been a big reader of books. Why is that ? Well, i prefered to watch VHS films instead back in the 80´s, as i used to hang out with friends who also collected VHS films. I only remember a few books that i did read, and they are perhaps not known for beeing family friendly. Back in the 80´s, i did check some books out by author Stepen King. His horror novels actually got me interested in reading ( for a period of time only ), especially after seeing some of the film adaptations, based on his books. One of the books i remember reading is called Misery, released in 1987. The story of author Paul Sheldon, who is trapped by the psychotic fan Nurse Annie, had a very interesting psychological story to tell. The film adaptation that came out in 1990, is actually very good for being based on Stephen King´s book. Especially the acting from actress Kathy Bates as Nurse Annie, she is amazing as the disturbing Paul Sheldon fan. Legendary actor James Caan also did a really good performance, and i have to say director Rob Reiner managed to capture the right feeling from the book, into the movie adaptation. A must see on DVD or Blu Ray. There are a lot of Stephen King novels that have been made into films, and we could mention a lot of titles. But let´s talk about one novel especially, known as Pet Sematary. The book was released in 1983, and in 1989 a movie adaptation was made from director Mary Lambert. This film is perhaps not the best film, based on a novel by Stephen King. But i have to say that Pet Sematary did work because of a unique story of a pet graveyard. When i heard a remake was going to be made, i was not sure if we needed one. Since i have seen basically all films, based on novels by Stephen King, i had to check out this remake. Is this a horror film that actually manage to deliver something, or is this the remake that never should have been made ?

Dr. Louis Creed ( Jason Clarke ) moves from Boston to the small town of Ludlow, with his wife Rachel Creed ( Amy Seimetz ) and their two children Ellie Creed ( Jeté Laurence ) and Gage Creed ( Hugo & Lucas Lavioe ). As the family begin to explore the area, Ellie sees a group of children wearing animal masks, carrying a dead dog to bury at a cemetery. Ellie is curious about this cemetery, known as Pet Sematary and accidently hurt hurself. Old man Jud Crandall ( John Lithgow ), a neighbor to the Creed family find Ellie at the Pet Sematary and help her. The´Creed family begin to spend time with Jud, as he show Dr. Louis the animal cemetery. When the Creed family´s cat Church is found dead, Louis knows this will break his daughter´s heart. So his neighbor Jud suggest that he bury the cat, beyond the Pet Sematary. Church is brought back to life. Lillie notice that Church is not being himself, that something is wrong with him. But an ever bigger tragedy strikes, when Ellie is killed by a truck. Louis refuse to accept this, and knows a way to bring her back.....

If you are a fan of the original film, i think you will be divided about this remake. I believe some fans of the original film will still prefer the first film, while some fans will still enjoy this new updated version of Pet Sematary. I happen to feel that this film is not so bad, considering this is a remake of a classic 80´s film. One of the things i feel that this remake does well, is not look exactly the same as the original film. The story has not changed a lot, but a few details have been changed to match better with the updated version. If you did see the original film, you might remember the little boy Gage, who were killed by a truck. In this remake it is also a child, but the daughter instead. I think it is a good to not copy too much from the original film, because it would have been too predictable. The acting in this film is ok for the most part, and actress Amy Seimetz ( who you probably have seen in the TV series The Killing ) is one of the most interesting characters. Her character Rachel is clearly struggling with the memories of her dead sister Zelda, and she manage to bring these emotions very well from an acting perspective. Legendary actor John Lithgow as neighbor Jud Crandall is a character with a lot of mystery surrounding him, and Lithgow is a great choice for a character like this. Actor Jason Clarke ( who was fun to see in Terminator: Genisys ) is not as good as i would have liked him to be. Not awful, but for such a big role in this film he should have delivered more. What makes this remake work, is the child actor Jeté Laurence as Ellie. When she is brought back to Life, and does not behave as a normal child, this is where we get some of the best parts of this film. Especially toward the end, where we also get a surprisingly good ending. Directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer have made a remake that actually is not too bad. They manage to show respect to the original film, and still make this new version work with the right horror elements. Pet Sematary is worth a watch, especially for fans of Stephen King.

Rating: DDD