Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at the 2019 remake of Pet Sematary. People were pretty angry that anyone had the temerity to remake such a beloved 80’s classic horror as this. But is it all that bad? Let’s take a look.

Horror remake or reimagining?

Ah Horror Movie remakes.. Is there anything better for the reputation of a below average horror movie than it being remade 20-30 years later? 2019’s Pet Sematary is the perfect example of the impact a remake can have on people’s opinions of an old horror movie.

When I first watched 1989’s Pet Sematary, as child, I was terrified by it. Watching it as an adult was a little different. I thought it was a pretty fun horror with a couple of hard hitting scenes and some typically 80’s moments. It was a standard Stephen King adaptation – perfectly fine to watch with your girlfriend on a Friday night but not exactly a good example of the horror genre as a whole.

Fast forward 30 years and, apparently, Pet Sematary is the Citizen Kane of the horror movie genre and it’s absolute sacrilege to re-imagine it for the modern era. Now, let’s correct the image here for anyone who is a little confused and thinks Pet Sematary was ever entirely worthy of some of the praise it is getting compared to the remake.

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 52% of 33 surveyed critics gave the original version of Pet Sematary a positive review; the average rating is 5.3/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “Pet Sematary is a bruising horror flick that wears its quirks on its sleeves, to the detriment of its scare factor.” On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews”.

As I am going through the site in 2024 updating old reviews. I figured I could bring you my own opinion on the original Pet Sematary as I reviewed it as part of our 2022 31 Days of KO-Ween series. So what did I think? Well, I actually found that it had aged pretty well. It is an enjoyable 80’s horror with enough camp and silly moments to make it fun while still retaining some of the hard hitting scenes that made it shocking back in the day. I awarded it 3.2/5 in my review which you can check out here.

Rose Tinted Glasses

When it comes to remakes, all of the Horror Historians need to cool off just a little. Given the critical reception of Pet Sematary, there is no reason to think it couldn’t have been done better in the future. Pet Sematary was never a particularly great movie. I really like it, as do others. Generally speaking, however, critically the same can’t be said. The 2019 version doesn’t deserve to be judged negatively based purely on the fact that it is a reworking.

When a film is remade or reworked, the old version doesn’t disappear. You are not forced to make an either/or choice between the two. Try to take both on their own merits and enjoy the remake for what it is. 2017’s “It” is fantastic example of a re-imagining that stands on its own merits and is just as good as the original TV version.

So with all that being said, let’s take a look at 2019’s Pet Sematary directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer have worked together before on the Valentine’s Day segment of the Anthology Horror Movie “Holidays” as well as the excellent Fantasy Horror “Starry Eyes” which I will review at some point in the future. Lorenzo di Bonaventura has an extensive list of production credits including the recent creature feature The Meg, Constantine, and the Transformers films.

Everyone knows Pet Sematary, right?

This is one of those strange reviews where you almost feel no need to recap the plot. Pet Sematary is such a well known movie that you assume almost everyone has at least some idea what to expect. Still, that’s not the way reviews work so for the benefit of those new to the series, here’s a quick recap.

The Creed family, Dad Louis, Mum Rachel, Daughter Ellie, and young toddler Gage; not forgetting their moggy Church; move out to a rural community, in Maine. Louis has accepted a job as a local doctor to get away from the hustle and bustle. I am assuming they did not view the property before purchasing as there is a whacking great road in front of it.

Unfortunately for the family the road appears to be the preferred route of visually impaired, lead footed, long distance truck drivers. Not a fantastic choice of home if you have pets and children. Would someone purchase a house without checking this first? This is one of a few Pet Sematary plot holes that could begin to bug you if you think too hard about them.

Tragedy Strikes – Literally

The Creeds aren’t there for long before Church volunteers his services as a furry tyre cover for one of the aforementioned trucks. Their neighbour, Jud Crandall, informs them that their property features a custom pet cemetery. How many homes have this? Probably handy living next to a highway!

Due to the cemetery, they can bury the cat so that Ellie doesn’t find out. For some reason Jud, in a moment of lunacy, encourages Louis to bury the cat in a very specific part of the cemetery.

Not the smartest idea, Jud!

That very night Church strolls back on into the house and into Ellie’s room sporting a new matted hair-do and a bad ‘tude. The return of Church from the pet cemetery is both a shade of foreshadowing and a plot device. Church’s return hints at the horrific events to come after tragedy befalls the family once again.

A few changes

Anybody who has seen the original film should know what to expect in the remake. The film makers have decided to switch things up a little, however, to keep you on your toes. There is one fairly significant change from the original, in particular.

Now, this may have been a massive surprise and a fantastic twist. That is, if the idiots hadn’t spoiled it in the trailer. I am not going to point it out but this was pretty annoying. Why are publishers so willing to spill a movie’s guts in the trailers? This is becoming a fairly significant issue. As a word of note, I have included the trailer down below but if you don’t want the changes spoiled, don’t watch it.

I would have loved to have gone into this remake not knowing what had been changed. It would have opened up a whole new level of interest for me. The same could be said for probably a fair few other viewers. Obviously if you haven’t seen the trailer the twist is still new to you. Otherwise, you know what is going to happen and it’s not a surprise.

Everyone would like a Jud Crandall living next door to them

Meet The Creeds

Naturally the Creed family has been recast. We now have Jason Clarke (Serenity, Terminator Genisys) in the role of Louis, Amy Seimetz (Alien Covenant, A Horrible Way to Die) as Rachel, and the talented young actor Jeté Laurence (The Snowman) as Ellie.

Recasting the beloved Jud from the 1989 version of Pet Sematary was always going to be a tall task. Originally played by the excellent character actor Fred Gwynne, Jud was beloved. John Lithgow (3rd Rock From The Sun) does a fantastic job playing a loveable, if not slightly darker, version of the Creed family neighbour.

The acting in Pet Sematary is pretty decent throughout if not a little by the numbers. An unexpected star of the show is the excellent Jeté Laurence. She is adorable, believable, and a very talented young actor. Not easy for a child but she carries the last third of the movie on her own. She reminds me of the under-rated Jodelle Ferland who cut her teeth as a child actor in horror movies.

Jeté Laurence is absolutely fantastic as Ellie

Pet Sematary 2019 – Is dead better?

So how does 2019’s Pet Sematary compare to the 1989 original? Jeff Buhler is tasked with the screenplay, this time, while the screen story credits going to Matt Greenberg. This means we have some differences from the original film. There are also a few more nods to the novel, and a few things that deviate entirely from both.

Perhaps the most pronounced change is the ending. Obviously this is not mentioning the major one that I won’t talk about due to it being a potential spoiler. A number of endings were filmed, including the original book ending, and screen tested. The ending that we see is the one that was, apparently, received best by the test audience. This makes me think we may have a very interesting Blu-Ray release with some director’s cut content and perhaps the alternate endings?

2019’s Pet Sematary is far more akin to popular modern horror than it is to horror movies of the 80s. It has clearly been made with a 2010s audience in mind. We have scenes that would not seem out of place in the Annabelle series. The movie almost turns into a slasher at times. There are buckets of gore and plenty of jump scares. This all seems a little at odds with the tragic themes of the story itself. The original was, however, fairly gory. The film does run pretty long and I feel we could have fit a little more character development in there.

Should You Watch Pet Sematary?

Pet Sematary is worth a watch if you are a King fan and want to see a story closer to the novel. It’s not better than the original version but, with everything being said, Pet Sematary isn’t a bad movie. It isn’t a great movie either but I can definitely imagine it being a few people’s guilty pleasure. While not up to the standard of the original, it is still fairly watchable.

Pet Sematary is a little like a can of Pringles. You know it’s not all that good for you, you know you will probably be disappointed when you finish. You know for a fact you will definitely feel hungry again in 20 minutes but you better believe that you are going to finish the entire tube in spite of all this. I watched the film in the cinema with my fiancée and we honestly both fairly enjoyed it. We weren’t overwhelmed but it was still a fun movie with some nice nods to the past.