Pet Sematary: Film Review

Horrors aren’t generally my bag but I’ve been getting braver of late and decided to see this remake of Pet Sematary, based on the Stephen King novel, after loving the remake of It last year. Pet Sematary definitely isn’t as good or scary as It but it delivers some chilling moments.

Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz are Louis and Rachael Creed who have bought a house in rural Ludlow in Maine to wind down after life in Boston and spend more time with their kids Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (Hugh and Louis Lavoie). They soon discover a mysterious pet burial ground in the woods on their land and Louis finds that an area beyond that has the ability to bring things back to life – but they are not the same.

My main issue with Pet Sematary was that the biggest scares were given away in the trailer. I was pretty freaked out watching the teaser and thought it looked super scary, but in the context of the movie, when you know what’s coming, it’s not so much. Sure, it made me jump a couple of times and I was freaked out towards the end (I can’t cope when people walk around in pitch-black basements) and I definitely felt a sense of tension and dread but I think horror fans will be largely dissatisfied with the amount of scares and blood/gore on offer.

I was unimpressed with the film at first because there were a few cheap jump scares – the fakeout kind when nothing scary is happening – and some body horror that was obviously CGI, but as the story progressed it got more tense and I started to care about the characters which made me uneasy about their future.

Clarke and Seimetz gave strong performances, but I cared about the fate of Rachael more. I enjoy John Lithgow, who plays their neighbour Judd, in everything he’s in and that was the case here, Laurence was creepy as hell once Ellie comes back, and the cat was equally chilling.

I haven’t read the novel or seen the 1989 movie but I know that Gage was the one that was resurrected before, so I guess some people would be annoyed about the change to Ellie. As a newcomer, that doesn’t bother me and because I’m not caught up in the details I can take it as its own thing. As someone with a fresh pair of eyes, I can say it is an average horror that’s mildly scary.

In cinemas Friday 5th April