For a good while there, Pet Sematary seemed like it was going to be a big disappointment. Here’s a Stephen King adaptation. With really good actors. And a really creepy cat. That should be enough right? The thing is, Pet Sematary was firmly inside of the “almost dozed off” camp of movies, until the third act saves it from forgettable horror fare.
Recently moving to a small town in Maine from Boston, married couple Louis (Jason Clarke) and Rachel (Amy Seimetz) hope to wind down from their crazy lifestyle in the bigger city with their kids Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (Hugo/Lucas Lavoie). Like any big change, the family struggles with their new weirder surroundings, including a “Pet Sematary” as written by kids and a walled off piece of forest as explained by their neighbor Jud (Jon Lithgow). One night, Ellie’s cat Scout is hit by a car, killing the poor animal. Rachel begs Louis to bury it in secret, so he does with Jud’s help. Then something funny happens…Scout returns, alive. Alive, but….well, off.
Pet Sematary the movie operates like it is scared of Pet Sematary the book. The fandom and reverence for Stephen King’s novel feels infused into the first hour of the movie. For a horror movie, not a lot really happens: we just get some weird images and dreams, and generic character development that doesn’t feel natural. There’s lots of dread and foreshadowing, but it’s hard to care when we don’t really understand the family members very well except Rachel. As such, the movie feels wooden, like you’re supposed to feel something and care more about what’s going on with this family instead of just waiting for the shoe to drop. Scout’s returns starts propelling the story a little, because those little worries in the family’s mind start to become bigger and more pronounced until the big event that happens in the middle of the movie.
I won’t spoil anything, but that mid-movie event kicks Pet Sematary into motion. What little character development was done at least creates stakes for what’s happened, and makes you understand the decisions characters start making, even if they seem illogical. Big third act twists totally work, and help usher in that scary movie people were hoping to see. Give credit to the filmmakers here: they diverged from the novel, which gives the final 3rd and ESPECIALLY the final shot much more potency. Wow, if you take some risks and ground your story in character development, turns out people will be into what you’re selling! Better late than never, I guess, Pet Sematary.
I imagine you’ll only be left mildly gutted by Pet Sematary, not reduced to a walking human fetal position. I consider this a disappointment for a movie whose tag line is “Sometimes Dead Is Better.” Pet Sematary is further proof to me that owning pets and small children might not be the best idea for city parents: your options are stay in the scary city or move to the sinister suburbs according to horror movies. Yikes.
Warning: Normally I don’t mind trailer viewing, but Pet Sematary’s trailer gives away BIG plot stuff if you’d prefer to go in cold. Exercise caution.