Movie Plot – Pet Semetary: Dr. Louis Creed and his wife Rachel move from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. Soon the couple discovers a mysterious burial ground, hidden deep in the woods near their new home.

Directors: Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer
Writers: Stephen King, Matt Greenberg, Jeff Buhler
Cast: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jeté Laurence

Another remake

Pet Sematary, a film adaptation of Stephen King’s well-known book, was released in 2019. The film is also a remake of the 1989 horror film of the same name. I can’t really compare it to the source material either since I’ve never read a Stephen King book. Still, I get the feeling that this story is told at an accelerated pace.

The emphasis has shifted almost entirely to many jump-scares and plot and especially dramatic framing have suffered. The premise, however, has remained intact. A doctor and his family flee the big city to live in a larger, more rural area. Louis and his wife Rachel have bought a beautiful house with a large piece of woodland. The only, life-threatening noise comes from a busy road where tankers race by.

The Pet Semetary

Before long, eight-year-old daughter Ellie discovers an animal cemetery behind the house. Neighbor Jud, happy to finally have some company again, explains to the girl that this is where the kids in the neighborhood bury their deceased animals. When Ellie’s beloved cat Church is hit by a tanker truck, Jud has a way of bringing the animal back to life.

Of course, you can expect more than this and worse things happen. If you’ve seen the trailer, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. However, I have to admit that I was intrigued by the idea of the Pet Semetary. After all, it’s a great idea of Stephen King!

Feeling empty

The biggest issue is how the characters are written. Doctor Louis and housewife Rachel are fairly empty personalities with whom the viewer has difficulty identifying. The result is that you are constantly watching from a great distance. The performances of Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz may be solid: they can never really make up for it.

The same goes for John Lithgow and Jeté Laurence, who play the roles of neighbor Jud and daughter Ellie, respectively. Pet Sematary does try to be interesting on all counts, but barely succeeds. Directors Kevin Kölsch and Dannis Widmyer, relatively unknown names in Hollywood, can’t quite convince either with their questionable direction.

Pet Sematary is the result of the lazy efforts of directing duo Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. They make the mistake of portraying the story of a family in need of peace and quiet, but finding the opposite, with too little emotional charge.

Conclusion

Pet Sematary is not what I hoped it would be. The screenplay is weak and the characters aren’t great either.

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