Pet Sematary Remake

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Ivant2bAlone

New Member
Jan 18, 2011
3
10
I was hoping to like this remake; however, given the fact that there has only been one movie whose remake I have liked, that was a very unrealstic hope. I am not putting anyone involved in this project down, it's just that I loved everything about the original movie: the cast, the setting, that house...oh, that house!
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I was hoping to like this remake; however, given the fact that there has only been one movie whose remake I have liked, that was a very unrealstic hope. I am not putting anyone involved in this project down, it's just that I loved everything about the original movie: the cast, the setting, that house...oh, that house!
...Hi Alone!.....
 

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
(This review is general so as to avoid spoilers. These are just my opinions and impressions. If you want to go into the movie totally unprejudiced, don't read further.)

I saw the movie last night and enjoyed it. To be sure, there are differences between the book and the first version of the movie but overall I thought it worked. A lot of my misgivings about the previews didn't prove to be an issue. I could nitpick but in general I'd say this is a good SK movie.

This new version is a lot less "horror fun" than the 80's version (for which I am admittedly nostalgic) and it takes time to get going at first, but moves pretty fast once it does. It also explores in a greater depth the mythology surrounding the burial place, and the personality of the undead evolves (or should I say unravels) over a few more scenes.

I did miss the bonding between Judd and Louis; it just isn't really a part of this movie, which is a shame. We don't even get to see on screen the first time Judd and Louis meet. Missed opportunity there. But they do a better job of developing Louis's relationship with his children than the first movie did. I also found the wife Rachel to be more sympathetic in her denial of death than in the first movie where she seemed to be more combative and argumentative than sympathetic. The flashback to Zelda scenes are shown in a new way that's a bit more gimmicky and felt like it was "movie service" more than story service.

All of the performances were very good here, especially the girl playing Ellie Creed, but really everyone does a great job. John Lithgow finds his own less Mainey version of Judd and inhabits him well. The character Louis is still a bit passively guided by the hands of fate and devoid of conscience, but that issue goes all the way back to the original source material, in my opinion. He is motivated to see his child alive again, and little else. The actor did the best he could though.

Time will tell which version I'll gravitate towards in future viewings. Both offer different experiences under the same story structure.

Our theater was giving away these awesome Pet Sematary posters with the purchase of a ticket! Get 'em while they last.
20190409-155359.jpg

Holy crap I LOVE that poster and want it on a t-shirt.
 

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
I am surprised we have seen much merchandise for this in the stores yet.

Generally, I think studios aren't really too sure about the success of horror films, so they tend to be conservative about releasing merchandise unless or until the box-office warrants it. I mean, look at IT: Chapter One. Stuff like bobble-heads, funko pops, etc. didn't get released until months after the end of the theatrical run.
 

preciousroy

Well-Known Member
Apr 4, 2018
175
661
I just saw it and I thought it was pretty good. I think it was over too quickly, actually. Maybe even a little rushed. Aside from some omissions I don't know what else could have been included to make it better, but I think I could have watched more without feeling like the movie was going on beyond a point where it should be. Maybe it was just me, though, but I didn't really feel any sense of dread or foreboding. For such a dark subject matter the movie didn't really drive it home just how really awful the subject matter is until the denoument. I also considered at the beginning of the movie how sad the story was that the characters were most likely doomed. If the movie could have gotten that across in a way that makes the audience feel pity for the characters then I would have felt connected with them so much more. I'm proud to have seen another Stephen King movie in my time.
 

Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
And while I loved the Ramones version of the song Pet Sematary, (did the Ramones spell it Cemetery or Sematary?) I really do like the new cover. I think we've got the old school meeting new and a nice tribute to the original artists.


and the original:

 

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
And while I loved the Ramones version of the song Pet Sematary, (did the Ramones spell it Cemetery or Sematary?) I really do like the new cover. I think we've got the old school meeting new and a nice tribute to the original artists.


and the original:


I really do like the new version, although I miss the aggressive intro of the original. The intro of the cover sounds like an homage to Don't Fear the Reaper (not a criticism, btw).
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
In the EW article SK says he devised a SECOND burial ground deep in the woods, because if the pet sematary itself would bring the animals to life, then ALL animals would come back, not just a few.
But itsn't it also because there has to be a supernatural FORCE that brings them back. In the native American folklore he found a reason why they would come back, a pet cemetery by itself would have no such reason. Unless it was built by accident on top of the native American burial ground.

Great article. I noticed in the picture that one of the animals buried is called Trixie. Is that a common name for pets, because it was the name of Dean Koontz' dog also,
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
In the EW article SK says he devised a SECOND burial ground deep in the woods, because if the pet sematary itself would bring the animals to life, then ALL animals would come back, not just a few.
But itsn't it also because there has to be a supernatural FORCE that brings them back. In the native American folklore he found a reason why they would come back, a pet cemetery by itself would have no such reason. Unless it was built by accident on top of the native American burial ground.

Great article. I noticed in the picture that one of the animals buried is called Trixie. Is that a common name for pets, because it was the name of Dean Koontz' dog also,
...."Trixie" isn't an unusual name for a critter, so yes, it would be fairly common.....
 

Blake

Deleted User
Feb 18, 2013
4,191
17,479
Did the film-makers of the new Pet Sematary ever consider casting Stephen King as Jud? I know in the book he is 83, but I think King could have been good playing the role. Just put a nose prosthesis on just to make him look slightly different. I don't think anyone can beat Fred Gwynne. (John Lithgow is good as well.)
 

Hill lover35

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2017
3,717
20,019
42
Alberta canada
Ye
And while I loved the Ramones version of the song Pet Sematary, (did the Ramones spell it Cemetery or Sematary?) I really do like the new cover. I think we've got the old school meeting new and a nice tribute to the original artists.


and the original:

h I like the new cover......