Pet Sematary

Grade: B-

Along with IT, Pet Sematary is my favorite Stephen King novel. I loved the book, and thought the 1989 movie was well done. The film was my first exposure to it. Most will probably say it’s better to at least read the book first, or ideally only read the book, before seeing any movie adaptation. I am all for seeing the movie first, and if you subsequently seek out the book, that obviously means you liked the movie enough, and the novel is like experiencing an expanded version of the movie, where many additional blanks are filled. Whereas, if you read the book first, you’ll likely be disappointed, and get less, in any film of it.

The 2019 remake of Pet Sematary is serviceable. I wouldn’t recommend it as your first exploration of the material, but it might be necessary viewing for those who are already fans. King loves to set his stories in his home state of Maine, and invents many towns there that don’t really exist. Pet Sematary’s plot involves the Creed family: Dr. Louis, his wife Rachel, young daughter Ellie, and toddler son Gage. They have just moved to Ludlow, Maine, off a country backroad. Across the street from them lives Jud, a kindly old widower, who gets the Things I Shouldn’t Tell My Brand New Neighbors award by – right off the bat – volunteering information about the pet cemetery in the Creeds’ back yard, as well as another burial ground beyond that, where whatever you bury there comes back.

When I think of Fred Gwynne, I think of Herman Munster, the judge in My Cousin Vinny (“Did you say yute?”), and Jud in the 1989 Pet Sematary – a performance that is legendary among horror fans. In the current version, the always welcome John Lithgow does the honors, and finds all the right notes. The only other face I recognized was Jason Clarke (Mudbound, Zero Dark Thirty) as Louis Creed. Clarke will turn 50 this year, which would have made him 20 in 1989, which means he almost could have played the role then. He reminded me of Dale Midkiff, the Louis from 30 years ago, in both look and demeanor.

This remake takes a few big liberties with plot, one of which has already been spoiled if you’ve seen the trailer. It is successful – even Stephen King liked it – and it plays like a fascinating fanfic. The actor involved in making this change happen is definitely up to the task. The ending has undergone a revamp too. It takes away the Shakespearian tragic hero undertones, but is fun for shock value.

Other elements I didn’t care for as much. Several scares seem forced and manufactured. Rachel’s character had a sister who died young from spinal meningitis. In a flashback, we see Rachel walking down the hall carrying a tray of food and water, while the filmmakers populate the soundtrack with frightening music. All I could think was, why is this supposed to be scary? She is bringing food and drink to her bedridden ailing sister. That’s sweet. I also missed the friction between Louis and his parents-in-law after a tragic event in the family. We don’t even see them in the 2019 version. I’ll end it by mentioning a completely unnecessary bit where, when Louis and Jud sit outside for a drink by the campfire, Louis slips something into Jud’s cup. There is absolutely no reason for him to do that, and there is no payoff that wouldn’t have happened anyway.

Louis CK has a bit in his stand-up act where he talks about how people use certain words so much, that it lessens the meaning of these words, when they use to carry a lot more weight. He uses “amazing” and “hilarious” as examples. A conversation he overheard went like this: “Guess who I saw the other day.” “Who?” “I saw Lisa.” “That’s hilarious.” CK says a more accurate response would have been “That happened.”

Pet Sematary 2019 – it happened.

Grade: B-