Pet Sematary

A decent remake of a mediocre adaptation, Pet Sematary is marginally effective. This movie follows a majority of the same story beats from the first iteration while adding its own stamp. Everything about this remake feels like an easy and safe studio greenlight, taking notes from the success of recent King adaptations and turning the bleakness to eleven. You want creepy children, cults, pets, settings, spirals, premonitions, dreams and jump-scares? Check. Most works, although there is far too much of a reliance upon jump scares and discordant sound cues. These techniques seem cheap, especially contrasted with wrenching horror of the subject matter. The power of the story, pulpy and cheesy as it may be, is in how it forces the viewer to confront death viscerally and beyond abstraction. The filmmakers did excellent casting for the daughter Elle and the cat, Church, who deliver effectively freaky performances. Everything filmed looks crisp and clean, with some good location and decent direction with the core horror of the text still resonates effectively. What’s missing, like the reanimated ghouls within, is something akin to a soul or spirit. There’s something lifeless and bland about the resultant product which follows predictable and forgettable beats. To be honest, the entire film is fairly forgettable. At the end of the day, you have the rare remake which surpasses the original (albeit slightly) but still falls far short of the source.

C