Alondra S
The Mean Review of Pet Sematary
The horror movie industry has fallen short in recent years. What was once scary and unhinged has become boring or cringy. The current generation wants a compelling story that adds resonance to their life. Audiences enjoy a story that has lessons and growth for the main character. Going into the new remake of Pet Sematary, I had low expectations for the storyline. There was no way the movie would surpass or even come close to the elegance of the classical book. My first expectation was correct. Pet Sematary brings nothing new to the horror industry, and the movie is a soulless representation of Stephen King's famous book. Nothing of substance was added to the story that Stephen King wrote in 1979, so why make the movie in the first place? The creators of Pet Sematary didn't create a message that sticks with the viewers, resulting in a lackluster movie.
Movie Summary
The movie begins with a four-person family moving into a farmhouse in the countryside: two parents, two kids, and one cat. The father, Louis Creed, is a doctor who works at a university hospital. Louis's first day on the job results in horrifying nightmares. While at home, Rachael, Louis's wife, starts experiencing supernatural things around the house. The death of Rachael's sister leaves her with terrifying visions. Rachael tries to overcome her grief and guilt over her sister's death. Unable to get over the past death, Rachael is hurled into the limelight of death. Unfortunately, Louis finds the family cat, named Church Hill, dead. Louis buries the Church in the Pet Sematary, which becomes the turning point for the family's future. Church Hill comes back to life, resulting in the downfall of the Creed family. At Ellie's Creed birthday party, a tragic event leaves the family broken. Ellie later returns surprisingly, shocking the audience at Pet Sematary's power.
Problems with the Dialogue
First, the dialogue in Pet Sematary was stiff and lacked any genuine connection. The natural flow of everyday conversation was a miss in the whole film. The reviewing platform Roger Ebert gives Pet Sematary a two-star review, which states, "Pet Sematary" quickly becomes an increasingly dire contraption in which every third line of dialogue is overly fraught with portent, used to mark time between the increasingly ineffective jump scares and gross-out moments." The interactions between the dad and daughter stood out in the movie, unfortunately, not in a good way. The scenes trying to establish a loving connection between the dad and daughter were awkward. Ellie Creed, the eight-year-old daughter of Louis Creed, has a critical role to play in the movie. The lack of connection is apparent during the daughters' party when Lois hands Ellie her birthday present. What child would be so stoic for their birthday? Where was the jumping for joy and acting like a kid? Jeté Laurence, the actress who played Ellie, was so unconvincing, which made the film even more unbearable. I won't harp on Jeté since she is a child actress. However, the movie directors knew that her scenes were hard to watch. When being possessed, the daughter is not terrifying and more funny. The people in charge shouldn't have relied on a kid to carry the movie.
Terrible Graphics
Then there were the graphics, which, at best, came out as unnecessary. One particular scene at the end of the movie was astonishingly terrible. While possessed, Ellie has a scene of violent shaking at super speed. It looks funny and not unsettling. At the central climax, you were too busy cringing from the graphics. Geeks Under Grace reviewed the graphics of Pet Semetary, mentioning, "There are two hauntings in the film that ramp up the gore, making the scares within the central plot seem tame in comparison." Along with my previous statement, there is a consensus that the main climax was not terrifying. The mother's side story was scarier than the main climax, which is surprising considering it wasn't the main story.
The Fast Pace
Graphics weren't the thing that killed the movie. We must discuss the movie's flow, which was too fast-paced. The film was going from one direction to another without resolving the problem. There is no shocking realization when Church Hill dies and returns to life. We don't have the time to be shocked by such a feat because we, the audience, are thrown into a side story. Then, you have an unexplained disappearance of one of the characters. It never explains why the character left. Once, conservation would have resolved a mystery that the movie never resolves.
The Resolution
The Pet Sematary movie fails as an adaptation. It falls short of its messaging and themes; audiences will wonder why they watched it. The film leaves a sour taste in your mouth, not for the right reasons. There was a setup for the main character, Louis, to experience the grief of his daughter, but it was cut short due to the ending scene. The ending scene was atrocious. There is a big spoiler ahead. The whole family dies and gets possessed. The theme and messages are lost the moment they kill the father. The theme of grief is flushed down the drain to have a shocking ending.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
04/21/25
Full Review
Josh A
I haven't seen the original or read the novel, but this is actually a pretty good movie. It's not amazing, but it's good. It's like a less violent version of Hereditary, in a sense.
The actual film, while occasionally boring, was good. The actual pet cemetery was well-shot and felt haunted, in a sense. The wendigo helped with that when it appeared. It also went in a different direction than I was expecting as it basically turned into a zombie movie and aside from Gage, the whole family died. Dark.
And of course, as someone who has 3 cats, I have to talk about Church. He's very cute. I loved the scene where Louis tries to kill Church but Church looks at him cutely and he just decides not to. Also basically every scene with Church. I just like him. Also Jud was quite an interesting character.
Overall, it's a solid movie. Not amazing, but solid.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
04/19/25
Full Review
Shaun R
The original is one of my favourite films and this was not a bad remake though not a great one. Typically, the ending was poor unlike the original.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/15/25
Full Review
Ricardo d
O original é muito melhor em todos os sentidos. Aqui houve uma adaptação mas que na prática não ficou boa. Sem grandes sustos, efeitos ruins, e atuação fraca. E ainda saiu que aqui tinha conseguido 100% de aprovação. Estamos vendo.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
02/02/25
Full Review
Tyler B
It was inevitable they would produce a remake.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/03/25
Full Review
Daniel G
Horrible, horrible, horrible. In the worst way possible.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
11/29/24
Full Review
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