Pet Sematary – Review

Stephen King acolytes understandably have a soft spot for Mary Lambert’s original 1989 adaption of Pet Sematary, but sometimes remade is better.

The master of the macabre Stephen King is having something of a late career renaissance, and Pet Sematary is the latest tale of terror to receive a thematically loaded, bone chilling revamp.

Mary Lambert’s original rendition of King’s ninth novel was well received but failed to fully manifest the unshakable eeriness of the source material.

Thankfully, a second stab at a big screen adaption – courtesy of director duo Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer – has done the story justice, in what is arguably the most frightening Stephen King adaption yet (no, we haven’t forgotten IT ).

The writer of the remake Jeff Buhler has stayed true to the principles of King’s storytelling. Everyone loves a good scare (and there are plenty on offer here), but they leave little effect if we aren’t invested in the characters and story.

Initially I had some trepidations about whether the remake would finally capture this essence, but shortly into my experience they were wholly alleviated. Buhler has efficaciously succeeded in humanising the Creed family, turning them into our surrogates, thus making the scares far more vicariously terrifying.

The plot (almost revealed in its entirety by the trailer) centres around Louis (the father), wife Rachael, eight-year-old daughter Ellie, toddler Gage, and one seriously frightening feline called ‘Church’.