Pet Sematary (2019)
2019
R
101 Minutes
Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, move from Boston to Ludlow, in rural Maine, with their two young children. Hidden in the woods near the new family home, Ellie, their eldest daughter, discover...
User Review
-
Pet Sematary digs up the original and requests to be put down again. A remake needs to justify its existence. It needs to be different enough whilst retaining the source material. This remake of the 89' original of the adaptation of King's cult novel immediately starts off as a carbon copy. Hitting each plot point beat for beat. Substituting the supernatural dramatic elements for psychological horror in order to appeal to modern audiences. A few new twists are implemented to keep this remake somewhat fresh, but it still smells like a decomposing corpse. A family move into a new house to which within their property lies a "Pet Sematary", sacred ground that allows those who are buried to be brought back to life in a murderous state.
Let's address the changes. The execution of its general story was much better in comparison. The direction allows a dark atmosphere to accompany the more expressive performances (yes, that includes Clarke also), making this family a tiny bit more human as opposed to lifeless bodies. There still remains a lack of connection to these characters; but the rectification of certain plot points, such as neighbour Jud's reasoning for burying Church in the first place, made for a consistent narrative flow. There is one discussion regarding death in an attempt to carry that theme throughout, but it's not particularly successful. Due to the better execution, there came a point where I found myself enjoying this more than the original (wasn't difficult...).
That is until we get to that pivotal concluding act. Cementing its generic appeal by switching the overall tone from a supernatural horror filled with unimaginative jump scares to a slasher thriller plagued by even more jump scares. The psychological study on humble father of the family Louis almost completely dissipates to make way for frustrating modern traits that are all too common in this day and age. Making something accessible to audiences should not be at the detriment of the film's execution, and that's exactly what happened here. You could say the original film employs the same tactics differently, most likely because it's in the book (I wouldn't know), yet it never removed the atmospheric presence of death. That imperative essence of the afterlife that shrouds the "sour ground". Unfortunately, this remake demolishes its creepy environment and falls down the same pitfalls albeit in cinematic fashion.
The ending, well, you'll either tolerate it or hate it. It didn't work for me and suspect it differs hugely from the novel, for which I have to lightly applaud as it's probably the only creative reason for this remake's existence. This is a frustrating feature. Despite its better execution and technical elements, the relinquishing of the novel's primary theme to make way for accessibility proves that this story should stay buried. Perhaps this story will never translate well onto the big screen? Or maybe I just don't like the story? Regardless, this remake is neither better or worse.0 member like this review.
