Written by Steven Allison
I recently reviewed a tepid “mockbuster” indie flick called Pet Graveyard. Released just before Pet Sematary, the two have zilch in common other than a semi-creepy cat. In the former, a sorta cute, hairless Sphynx keeps Death company on his macabre exploits. How sweet, huh? In the latter, the tragic passing of furball Church (played by no less than five separate feline actors) is the catalyst for a grim series of events screwing things up for the Creed clan.
When Dr. Louis Creed relocates his family to rural Ludlow, Maine, he and troubled wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) hope to find a slower pace of life. Instead, the couple discover an eerie pet cemetery (incorrectly styled “pet sematary” on a signpost) in the woods adjoining their home. After Church is mowed down by a speeding juggernaut, friendly but mildly peculiar neighbour Jud (John Lithgow) shows Lewis an ancient burial ground beyond the cemetery. There, the dead can be brought back alive but far from well. When the hissing creature turns up the following day, moody, matted and mucky, adorable daughter Ellie (Jeté Laurence) is elated. Yet Lewis knows he’s made a grave mistake.
“Sometimes, dead is better,” Jud wisely tells Louis, and oh boy is he right. During a birthday party, the mangy creature bolts out into the road, Ellie hot on foot in pursuit. The rattle of a truck at full throttle sounds tragedy, and the rest…well, you can guess how it goes.
Pet Sematary is the latest in a long line of Stephen King adaptations. Only a few of these, including Brian Dr Palma’s Carrie and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, are off-the-charts. But this is one story that should have remained dead. Mary Lambert already gave it a bash in 1989 with a script by “The King of Horror” himself, and jeez, did that tacky number flatline or what? Don’t get me wrong, who isn’t partial to a spot of resurrection now and then? But this tale, which strives to explore the sadness of a grieving father, is so bleak and disturbing that breathing second life into it feels entirely unnecessary. At points, it’s understandable why King once thought it inappropriate for publication.
Hey ho. Clearly Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer saw something worth retelling with Jeff Buhler’s screenplay. But retell is all this lot do, really, for very little differs in their modern version. Sure, there are some key alterations to the narrative, serving to amp up the terror, but this duo of directors haven’t deviated far from the source novel. What they have done though is compose an infinitely more polished interpretation of the original story. Cinematographer Laurie Rose crafts some haunting scenes, fully exploiting the terrifying, misty woodland backdrop. Regrettably, much of her efforts are ruined by umpteen false and jump scares. Catch you these cheap tricks will, but a worthy substitute for building genuine tension they are not. Adding to the problem is a scintilla of black comedy, scrubbing away too much of the darkness for true disquietude to take hold. In contemporary horror terms, the film isn’t particularly scary, nor does it bring anything new to the table.
Laurence is incredible as the good-natured Ellie. It might just be my wild imagination, but the young actress is essentially just a miniature Julianne Moore. Has anyone else noticed the similarity? Lithgow does well as affable recluse Jud, but because he often plays the bad guy these days, it’s hard to trust his character here. Clarke has a sort of dead-eyed thing going on, which makes him perfect in a role where heartbreak overpowers Louis’ capability of rational thought. As twisted as this may come over, it’s just a pity Ellie’s death isn’t sooner, giving Clarke longer to show us what he’s got. Seimetz makes Rachel’s demons compelling from start to finish, her fearful recoil in the third act the perfect antithesis to Louis’ sheer folly.
This revival of Pet Sematary may surpass Lambert’s foolishly eccentric, gaudy effort, but it merely demonstrates some tales should simply never graduate from page to screen.
