A purr-fect horror

Shazam! 

Starring: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow

Directors: Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer

Genre: Horror

Rating: 18+

RUNTIME: 101 Mins

 This new version of Pet Sematary – an adaptation of Stephen King’s seminal novel of the same name, which was previously made into a film in 1989 – is an example where sometimes remakes are better. Whatever one’s feelings are on the original film, though, this new Pet Sematary stands alone as a gripping piece of horror entertainment marked by strong performances, an ever-escalating sense of doom, and, as the movie crosses firmly into the ghoulish, a delightfully dark wit.

Skilfully directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, Pet Sematary quickly establishes a pervasive sense of dread that extends from the otherworldly woods of the titular burial ground to what should be the safety and sanctity of a family home. And for the film’s central Creed family – doctor-dad Louis, mum Rachel, and kids Ellie and Gage, who recently relocated from Boston to the small town of Ludlow, Maine – their new home and its unfathomably evil surroundings will impress upon them that death will find anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Pet Sematary builds methodically and gruesomely upon each new morbid turn of the plot, arriving at an unsettling outcome that’s different from both the book and the original movie. Several key changes have been made to the material, the most significant of which was already revealed by the movie’s trailer (switching which child dies and comes back). This change is obviously significant but it works wonderfully here as it allows the film to more directly and disturbingly address the larger philosophical, life-and-death questions only hinted at in the original movie.

Not unlike the source material of Frankenstein, it’s more interesting and unnerving to see the doctor who played God confronted by a thoughtful, eloquent but still volatile monstrosity than merely a simple-minded one. Jeté Laurence, who plays Ellie Creed, steals the show in the film’s increasingly intense homestretch, not only holding her own with adult, veteran actors but selling the whole conceit with righteous fury.

Pet Sematary could have very easily gone off the rails in its final act if the actress playing Ellie couldn’t pull off this malevolent and violent switch, but Laurence is truly a cut above.

Jason Clarke effectively underplays what could have been an over-the-top arc for his character Louis, conveying not only the everyman qualities needed to make Pet Sematary a universally relatable tale of a parent’s worst nightmare but also skilfully portraying a man cracking apart.

Louis’ hubris is at the root of his downfall; a man of science who doesn’t believe in an afterlife, a mere mortal who thinks he’s in control, and Clarke makes you sympathise with Louis despite his wrongheaded actions in trying to cheat death. As Rachel, Amy Seimetz likewise keeps her character’s deeper, darker side under wraps as her tragic past collides with her horrifying present.

John Lithgow doesn’t play the Creeds’ neighbour Jud Crandall as quite the Maine hick that Fred Gwynne did in the 1989 film, finding more shadings to his odd character thanks to a script that gives Jud more of a reason for steering Louis down this dark path than may have been previously discernible. Lithgow excels at portraying the light and the dark, the sweet and the sinister, sometimes within moments of each other, and that skill serves him well here.

The movie does stall a bit in the middle as it builds toward the inevitable tragedy that makes the story so infamous. It’s certainly not a huge demerit but the pacing lulls a bit at this point before getting back on track. Otherwise, the escalation of fear and despair is well done, and with more than a few welcome nervous laughs to be had as things grow weirder and weirder.

This retelling of Pet Sematary is a surprisingly effective and entertaining flick, a horror film that manages to avoid spiralling into a goofy mess by its end even though it very easily could have. The film ratchets up the unease with each step the Creeds take toward the dark side, yet it always keeps you emotionally invested in what feels like a real and relatable family. The horror simply wouldn’t work if the family suffering here weren’t as effectively rendered by the strong actors portraying them and the film’s storytellers.

2019’s Pet Sematary is a fun and frightening film – if by fun you enjoy seeing characters go to hell and back. The movie milks its powerful premise of denying or outright cheating death for every gruesome bit that it’s worth. While some purists may balk at the changes and omissions made here, those simply looking for a horror movie as compelling as it is wicked should enjoy this new Pet Sematary.

Now showing in all Bahrain’s cinemas.

 Kristian’s verdict: 4/5