Pet Sematary is a well-known Stephen King story, but this adaptation struggles to tell that story to its audiences. Though visually stunning, the movie suffers from an uneven pace, unnecessary changes, and an unsatisfying ending.
“Sometimes dead is better.”
Most people, even if they haven’t read the original 1983 book or seen the 1989 film, know the general story of Pet Sematary. Despite the name, the story is far more about its human characters than any animals or mystical locations that can bring back the dead. At its core, the story is one about grief and the lengths to which it can drive you. To use an old cliché, Pet Sematary cautions its audiences to be careful what they wish for. Sometimes, dead really is better.
“After the Creed family relocates from Boston to rural Maine, they soon discover an ancient burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home. When tragedy strikes, the grief-stricken father is driven by the cemetery’s sinister power, setting off a perilous chain of events that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences. Some secrets are best left buried in this twisted thriller.” – Official Description
Though visually stunning, this latest take on the classic Stephen King novel suffers from an uneven pace, unnecessary changes, and an unsatisfying ending. Directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, Pet Sematary runs 101 minutes and stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jete Laurence, and John Lithgow.
In any book-to-screen adaptation, changes have to be made. So-and-so’s storyline gets cut out, this or that scene gets rewritten, the location of that one big moment is changed for visual purposes, and so on and so on. As a Stephen King fan, I get that. I don’t mind changes to the original story as long as they make sense. Take The Shining for example. That movie has an ending totally different from the book, but that new ending looks good on screen and doesn’t feel out of place with the rest of the story. This latest take on Pet Sematary, however, seems to make several big changes simply for the sake of change.
The movie’s biggest change was unfortunately given away very early on by the trailers and posters. It’s not little Gage Creed who gets killed in an accident, but his older sister Ellie. Book purists will hate this change to the source material, but again, it’s a change that has the potential to play out well on screen. Unfortunately, an uneven pace, unnecessary changes, and an unsatisfying ending keep that change from ever reaching its potential.
Pet Sematary opens with the Creed family arriving at their new home in Maine. The house is beautiful, but it’s dangerously close to a busy road. The family has moved so that Louis (Jason Clarke) can take a job as a doctor at the local university. He and his wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz), want to slow down and spend more time with their children, Ellie and Gage.
One day while Rachel unpacks boxes, Ellie (Jete Laurence) goes exploring around the new property. She quickly finds an old pet cemetery hidden in the woods behind their new house. The cemetery is maintained by the local children. Ellie’s curiosity takes her to a large section of deadfall and broken branches at the back of the cemetery. When she tries to climb it, she is startled by Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), their new neighbor.
The movie doesn’t seem to know how to use Jud. In the book, he serves the role of a father figure to Louis. Though he is sometimes misguided, he is kind and supportive of each member of the Creed family. The movie instead focuses on the relationship between Jud and Ellie, nearly skipping the crucial bond between Jud and Louis entirely. Lithgow is given very little to do, and his role is used more as a plot device than a fleshed out, developed character.
One of his roles as a plot device is to introduce Louis to the “Pet Sematary” after Ellie’s cat, Church, is found dead by the side of the road. Louis doesn’t understand why they have to go so far to bury a cat, but Jud is insistent that they must take the cat past the cemetery and over the deadfall because Louis loves his daughter. The next day, when Church returns, Louis begins to understand the power held by the land behind the deadfall.
Unfortunately, the pacing of the movie feels off from the opening scene. The introduction to the characters feels quick and choppy. Relationships between the characters aren’t really given time to form or develop. That big death viewers know is coming doesn’t occur until just over halfway through the movie. And . . . not a lot happens before that. The movie presents an opening with very little content, a tragic catalyst, and then a lot of content in a short amount of time. It leads to a rushed and unsatisfying ending.
There are several reasons why the ending is unsatisfying. For those who are fans of the book or the 1989 movie, it’s an entirely different ending to the story. Without giving too much away, the movie’s major twist was intended to give Louis more of an emotional connection to his choices and consequences. This happens, but it’s brief and rushed. The change was also made to introduce a more prominent physical threat, but the movie does not use as many action sequences as the trailer led viewers to believe. The new ending takes place back at the Pet Sematary. Visually, it looks really good, but a few things happen in this scene that directly defy the rules of the Pet Sematary that were established the first time viewers saw it when Jud took Louis to bury Church. Characters also make choices that are certainly questionable, especially in regards to keeping their children safe. (Author’s note – People were laughing in my theater by the time the credits began rolling – It’s not a comedy.) The story now has several plot holes that are not addressed. Some of these are changes that feel like they exist simply for the sake of change. An alternate ending is presented in the bonus features. While the alternate is closer to the ending told in the original book, so much of the story has changed by that point that even the so-called “correct” ending no longer feels right.
A positive for the movie – despite featuring big names like Jason Clarke and John Lithgow, the standout performance is delivered by Jete Laurence as Ellie Creed. She has a natural delivery and strong, believable presence on screen. Very few child actors would be able to switch between innocent, cat-loving, naivety and menacing danger with such ease. It will be interesting to see where Laurence’s acting career goes next.
Jason Clarke on the hand, though a good choice for the role of Louis Creed, is difficult to hear in many scenes. His voice is almost muffled, and it sounds like his natural Australian accent is slipping through in a few places. Subtitles are almost a requirement for some of his scenes. Other than muffled dialogue, Clarke does a nice job delivering the emotions of his character. Louis, a doctor, initially starts the story seeing death as a black-and-white, natural part of life and that there is nothing after it. The return of Church forces Louis to reconsider those beliefs. After tragedy strikes, Louis is presented with an impossible choice; however, for the grieving father, there is no question about what to do next.
The movie is beautifully shot and employs many natural, outdoor scenes. It’s a credit to cinematographer Laurie Rose. There are many slow, sweeping shots that enhance the movie’s overall visual beauty and add to the chilling nature of the narrative tone. The only set that feels out of place is the Micmac burying ground. Though likely built as a set piece for practical purposes, it doesn’t quite match the visuals of the rest of the movie and the sky looks green-screened in. Overall, though, the outdoor scenes are stunning.
In all fairness, Pet Sematary is a tough story to adapt. So much of the plot is driven by emotions and the relationships between characters. The major “action” doesn’t happen until well-over halfway through the story, and that’s tough for filmmakers to try to share on screen. This adaptation of the Stephen King classic tries to find that balance between action and emotion. Though visually stunning, it unfortunately suffers from an uneven pace, unnecessary changes, and an unsatisfying ending.
Is there a scene after the credits?
No. However, the song playing over the credits is a Starcrawler cover of the Ramones’ 1989 “Pet Sematary” single. It’s a catchy cover that fits well with this adaptation.
Bonus Features
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- “Daddy’s Nervous Too” (2:17)
- “Your Kids Are Lucky” (1:53)
- “I Wanted Her To Die” (3:27)
- “She Didn’t Come Back The Same” (3:44)
- “It’s Not Real” (1:58)
- “I’m Leaving In The Morning” (1:11)
- “Did You Miss Me Judson?” (1:43)
- Night Terrors – Family Haunting Visions
- Louis (1:40)
- Rachel (2:08)
- Ellie (1:09)
- Beyond the Deadfall (1:01:22)
- Chapter One: Resurrection
- Chapter Two: The Final Resting Place
- Chapter Three: The Road to Sorrow
- Chapter Four: Death Comes Home
- Alternate Ending (9:16)
- The Tale of Timmy Baterman (3:04)
This combo presents an interesting set of bonus features. The highlight feature is “Beyond the Deadfall” – a documentary about the making of the movie that covers everything from the script to the set to the cast to the cats used to play Church. Watching the trainers teach and play with the cats is mesmerizing! The feature itself is an outstanding behind the scenes special. As for the deleted and extended scenes, it would have been nice to see “Daddy’s Nervous Too” left in the final cut. It’s a nice look at the relationship between Louis and Ellie early on and would have laid some needed groundwork for the rest of the movie.
Takeaway
Pet Sematary is a well-known Stephen King story, but this adaptation struggles to tell that story to its audiences. It does excel in its special features and a lot of its movie-making techniques. Though visually stunning, the movie suffers from an uneven pace, unnecessary changes, and an unsatisfying ending.
