Pet Sematary (2019) – A Fitz of Horror Exclusive Look

Bob Coldicott (Gothic Bob) April 2, 2019

Synopsis-Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.

Most of us know this Stephen King classic but for those who don’t you must surely be sweating with as much excitement as those of us who do…and can’t wait to see this reboot either. Let us, at Fitz of Horror, give a high-overview summary of the story and then give you some goodies.

A nice family moves to a remote, densely wooded, country-side house on the outside of town. The kids’ pet, a cat named “Church”, loses its life and an oddball neighbor convinces them to bury Church in the nearby pet cemetery. Reluctantly, they do. Short-time goes by and Church appears again, alive but not the same.

‘Church’. PET SEMATARY, from Paramount Pictures.

More tragedy descends on the family and they decide to take a drastic and desperate measure, leaving us to ponder “how far would you go, to bring a loved one back?”

This time around the story is penned by Matt Greenberg. He’s written quite a few supernatural-horror stories, one of them being a favorite of mine, 1408. He’s also had a hand in Mimic, Reign of Fire, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and The Prophecy II. Jeff Buhler (Grudge, Jacob’s Ladder) adapted it for screen. The film will be directed by the tandem of Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. I was suprised to see their resumes but these two are no strangers to working together, however, and have collaborated on films such as Mama 2, Absence, Holidays and Starry Eyes.

Here they are, at SXSW, talking about the opportunity to work on the remake of this King classic

The film stars Jason Clark and Amy Seimetz as “Louis and Rachel Creed”, the parents of “Ellie” and “Gage” who are played by Jeté Laurence and Hugo Lavoie (respectively). The neighbor, Jud, is played by (also a favorite of mine) John Lithgow.

Amy Seimetz on the film, reading the book and the idea of losing someone

Enjoy this clip, titled ‘Hug Your Daughter’

Will this adaptation do the novel justice or will it have us wishing this puppy was left buried in 1989, after the first adaptation? Let us know what you think, when you go catch this in theaters this weekend!

Left to right: Jason Clarke, Director Kevin Kölsch, Director Dennis Widmyer and John Lithgow behind the scenes on the set of PET SEMATARY, from Paramount Pictures.

Left to right: Jason Clarke as Louis and John Lithgow as Jud in PET SEMATARY, from Paramount Pictures.