'Pet Sematary' is a remake of the 1989 film of the same name and both are based upon the 1983 novel by Stephen King. The film follows the bare basics and attempts to take its own path and while jarring for King fans it is nice to see a remake try something different. However, in the end if one wants to take that path then I guess you should ask why even bother with a remake in the first place? Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), his wife, two children and their cat Church move to Ludlow, Maine in the hopes of starting a new life. Right away, things begin to slowly unravel once their young daughter Ellie (Jete Laurence) discovers the titular cemetery behind their home which seems to contain an ancient evil that seeks to tear the family apart.
The casting here is far better than the original film for the most part. Jason Clarke gives a lot more emotion and depth to Louis than Dale Midkiff and Amy Seimetz is a far better fit for Rachel over Denise Crosby. I also liked to see that this version shows the love between the two whereas in the original you feel that they are always cold and never intimate. Young Jete Laurence is the big stand out here (other than that damn creepy cat perhaps) as she gives one hell of an intense performance. She is sweet, innocent and loving when alive only to then switch to a maniacal, destructive and grotesque shell taken over by the Wendigo. I know why people would be upset at this drastic change from the book, but I feel that like Miko Hughes as Gage she proves the naysayers wrong and is a natural talent. The biggest drawback with the cast sadly has to be John Lithgow. The man is a great actor don't get me wrong but this version of Jud just doesn't have any of the warmth, personality or emotion of his novel counterpart.
The story has been significantly changed through a lot of the script, and not just the switching of the children's ultimate fates. The Zelda character is presented as little more than a couple of cheap jump scare sequences and even the makeup on her is pretty uninspired. The biggest thing missing here is motivation and I mean real motivation as to why exactly Jud would take Louis up to the burial ground knowing what will happen. For those who haven't read the novel, this is a slight spoiler but in King's book Jud's wife Norma is alive for a good chunk of it. She suffers a heart attack during Halloween and Louis saves her life. She eventually passes later on in the story but this is what gives Jud the motivation. He felt obligated as a way of repaying him for saving his wife and he also felt for young Ellie and didn't want to see her upset. Norma is sadly missing from both film adaptations (though she does make a sinister cameo here) and Jud briefly mentions the Wendigo enticing people to use the cemetery. Really, he just seems like a grumpy old man here and it really takes a lot of what little warmth the novel had. The film also seems to attempt at being as bleak as possible, having an even darker ending than the novel's which I didn't think was possible.
The film is very nicely shot, with the green of the trees and the dark blue of the night coming through very beautifully. For the film's more horror focused scenes the lighting tends to come out a bit gray and bland but for the most part, I thought the film looked great. The film's music is also nice, coming from Christopher Young who provided the scores to the horror classic 'Hellraiser' and its sequel. He also provided the music to 'Spider-Man 3' which took on a more horror like tone so the man knows the genre well. His score here is soft and slow paced which gives off that very eerie feeling while you watch it. Even during the more intense moments, he manages to keep a subtle but effective sound. It's not one of his best I think, but it's a very effective one. Also, be sure to stick around for the end credits to hear a nice remake of the Ramones song 'Pet Sematary' which is a nice reference to the end of the '89 original. For a movie that is trying to take its own path, a lot of the production design feels straight from the book down to even the smallest details. Fans of King's work will love seeing the various Easter eggs and references to his other novels.
'Pet Sematary' is one of the better remakes you'll find out there. The performances are for the most part superior to the original, it retains the overall creepy feeling of the book and it looks and sounds appropriately spooky. It's biggest problems is that like the original it still leaves out a lot that I feel is important to the overall tale and some of the film's changes feel frivolous at best. I still highly recommend it if you're a fan of Stephen King or are looking for a good horror flick to watch on a Saturday night. Just don't go in with an overly ambitious expectation and I feel that you will enjoy it from beginning to end, even with its many cuts and bruises.
8.5
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