PET SEMATARY, from Paramount Pictures.Good artists create and great artists steal. So what can be said about someone who steals from a book/screenplay of a film that’s already been created? Good question and one that will be dutifully answered on April 5, 2019.
The initial viewing of the 2019 remake of the 1989 horror classic Pet Sematary doesn’t give us any new or provocative looks — save for a couple kids wearing masks and some nicely placed drone footage — but it does look like we’re in for a couple scares next spring.
New(ish) horror director Kevin Kolsch has a couple pretty solid pieces of work under his belt, including the 2014 well concocted satanic thriller, Starry Eyes, as well as a handful of directorial credits on the TV show Scream. Good provenance and a solid story. Both suggest that, again, we’re in for a couple scares in the near future. That said, other than the rampant success of Stephen King brethren, IT, it’s not entirely clear why Pet Sematary is being remade and why a studio would green light the remake of a flick that’s only 29 years old. Wait, did I just answer my own question? Oh, yes, the success of IT. That’s right.
We here at the Scariest Things podcast are waiting with bated breath (that weirdly smells like cat food) and a whole pile of unreasonable expectations. Five months isn’t that long, but maybe we’ll just bide our time with second and third viewings of the Suspiria remake, and the Halloween remake, and the Grudge remake, and the second part II of the IT remake, and the….
So, Scariest Things Staff, will you be crossing the road to see Pet Sematary in April?
MIKE: Even though it pains me to say this, “I will be seeing Pet Sematary.” I’ve always had a soft spot for John Lithgow and the director seems to know his way around a camera. Both are fairly good signs that this remake might not be naught. Coupled with the fact that the kids in the homemade masks are pretty darn creepy. Sign me up.
ERIC: I was impressed with the trailer. John Lithgow is a great choice to play Jud, and Jason Clarke is consistently good… so count me in! I think enough time has passed that it’s OK to do a reboot. It doesn’t seem THAT long ago, but really, it’s closing in on 30 years. It looks like it respects the source material, adding wrinkles but not over-thinking the plot. The truck foreshadowing was fantastic! That cat has seen better days. Color me intrigued.
ROBERT: Okay, I wasn’t expecting the trailer to be so good. I vaguely remember the original with Herman Munster and what sticks with me most is a sense of overacting and general goofiness. I might have to go back for a refresher viewing of that one before seeing the remake. I agree about John Lithgow being a perfect choice here and loved the kids’ procession and spooky drum beat. I’ll be watching this one for sure.