Emily
“Pet Sematary”, based on the novel by Stephen King, centers around the Creed family and their recent move to what appears to be an idyllic part of Maine. They settle down in their new home hoping to spend some more quality time together, but quickly discover that there is more to their new property than meets the eye. They are about to learn an important lesson about death and how “sometimes dead is better.” Unfortunately, this movie is such a skeleton of its source material, with no heart and no thrills, that maybe the filmmakers themselves should’ve heeded this warning and left the brilliantly crafted book alone.
It appears that Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) and his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) have chosen to move into a their new home in such a hurry with their children 8 year old Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and toddler Gage (played by twin brothers Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie), that they failed to notice many details about their new residence, including its close proximity to a roadway frequented by truckers and exactly what their large scale property contains. Their elderly next-door neighbor Jud (John Lithgow) helps to fill in some of these details by sharing with them information about the local Pet “Sematary” located on their grounds. Having lived in the same town for his whole life, Jud knows from experience just how “sour” the land can be.
One day, when Jud finds that the Creed family’s cat Church has been killed by a semi truck, he takes it upon himself to share with Louis a magic place that exists in Ludlow. It’s a secret location deep in the woods beyond the Pet Sematary which is powered by an ancient spiritual force that can bring anything buried there back to life. Jud has Louis bury Church on these grounds even though he later warns that the things never return the same and even come back evil. Whether he likes it or not, Jud has created a domino effect within the Creed family where the lines between life and death will be tested and forever changed.
The novel was based upon real life events that Stephen King experienced when he and his family made a similar move while he was teaching at the University of Maine. Many of the story’s details mirror King’s own life, with the notable addition of the supernatural elements. King has always considered the book to be his scariest. It was written from a place of his deepest, darkest nightmares and provided a psychological thrill-ride that reminded readers: “Dead is dead.”
The novel should have been the perfect roadmap for an adaptation, but it would appear that the screenwriter Jeff Buhler (“The Prodigy”) and directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer (“Starry Eyes”) were trying so hard to make modern audiences jump that they forgot all about the heart at the center of the story. It’s almost impossible to care about any of the characters because of the underdeveloped relationships, corny dialogue, and ridiculously cliché scares. There is no heart to the film at all, which is enough to make any audience member roll their eyes in disgust. Unfortunately, the script is such a mess that even Lithgow can’t save it. He should be such a perfect choice for the part of Jud, but he isn’t even on the screen long enough to care if he lives or dies.
Besides Gage (who you can’t help but care about with all that naïve cuteness), there is only one aspect of this film that stands out and is masterfully crafted: the sound design. Tim Walston and Matt Yocum must be applauded for their brilliant work on this film. Where the script and direction failed to provide any sense of thrills at all, the sound design saved the day. The use of surround sound is enough to keep viewers on their toes and looking over their shoulders. Unfortunately, those who choose to wait to watch this movie at home are going to miss out on this element and with it will go almost any redeeming quality that this film has.
“Pet Sematary” is so devoid of any dimension or subtext that people who have read the book will feel the same crushing defeat felt when “The Dark Tower” feature came out, another Stephen King book trashed and rushed in the cinema version. Those who haven’t read the book will find themselves looking around going, “So what?” Honestly, the only thing that is going to make anyone care about this movie is children being featured in a horror film so save your money and watch The Sixth Sense again instead.
