Review Megathread: Pet Sematary (2019)
SPOILER WARNING: Many of these reviews repeat information laid out in the second trailer, which many considered a spoiler so be warned.
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Metacritic: 70/100
Written Reviews:
The Hollywood Reporter - John DeFore
The rest of the pic is strongest when it lets its very fine cast explore the difficulties their characters already have along with the ones they're hiding from each other. Not everybody knows about this place of rebirth; not everybody would agree to use it if they knew. And there's a compelling mix of fear and poignancy in the reunion of a surviving family member and one who isn't quite as alive as you'd hope. Unfortunately but not fatally, the movie soon makes this reanimated loved one more monstrous than unsettling, possessed of unlikely strength and a little too similar to the growling monster-people found in garden-variety horror films. A more eerie approach would have been welcome, and more in keeping with what Church has taught us to expect from those who come back from the hilltop.
Whatever one’s feelings are on the original film, though, this new Pet Sematary stands alone as a gripping piece of horror entertainment marked by strong performances, an ever-escalating sense of doom, and, as the movie crosses firmly into the ghoulish, a delightfully dark wit. Skillfully directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, who previously directed 2014's Starry Eyes, Pet Sematary quickly establishes a pervasive sense of dread that extends from the otherworldly woods of the titular burial ground to what should be the safety and sanctity of a family home.
For much of the runtime, the directing duo confront grief and guilt in a manner that resonates deeply; familiar as viewers may be with the source material and Lambert’s take on it, Kolsch and Widmyer manage to subvert those expectations to deliver an unnerving exploration of death and its emotional effects. That approach may appear heavy-handed to fans of both the novel and the 1989 movie — as are winks and nods to King’s bibliography — but this “Pet Sematary” is more effective than the previous adaptation, at least until the climax. It’s in the third act that Kolsch and Widmyer’s ambitions get the best of them. The macabre poignance of the first two-thirds of the film swiftly devolves into silliness, ending on a note that is neither heartbreaking nor horrific. That’s a shame, given the 80 or so minutes that preceded it
Kölsch and Widmyer, along with screenwriter Jeff Buhler, have a blast playing with our expectations. They’re well aware that most of us will know this story, either from reading King’s novel or seeing the 1989 movie. But the fun – and fear – comes when those expectations are subverted. We may think we know where this story is going, but Pet Sematary has plenty of shocking tricks up its sleeve. The end result is a film somehow darker than the book itself, which at one point seemed impossible. King’s novel is notoriously bleak – so bleak that the writer himself felt he had gone too far when he wrote it, and originally considered throwing it away rather than publishing it. But the new Pet Sematarypushes the envelope, and then some, going further than King even dared. The fact that this is a studio film is both surprising, and thrilling. The producers have allowed Kölsch and Widmyer to go down some twisted paths, and dig up something considerably nasty.
The movie is disconcertingly efficient in laying out the essentials of its plot — four minutes in, passing gas trucks are hurtling down the deadly street in front of the Creeds’ new home, and three minutes later, Ellie has set foot in the “pet sematary” — but sacrifices the kind of eccentric personal details King uses to connect (or repulse) us with the characters he’s created, along with the more introspective look at grief and loss that made the novel’s ludicrous story so effective. The script, from “The Midnight Meat Train” writer Jeff Buhler, is practically all plot, all the time, which is plenty efficient for those simply looking to be scared but a little anemic when it comes to making audiences care about these people — all of whose deaths are intended to be seen as not only shocking but tragic.
I quite enjoyed the thrills of the new “Pet Sematary,” much like I enjoyed the scares of the old movie. Its terrifying story about death still leaves audiences with much to think about long after the credits roll, and the twists that lead to a new ending are fun to follow. Thirty years after the original movie frightened audiences, its source material has given new life to one of the best Stephen King adaptations in the past decade.
Submitted March 18, 2019 at 07:14PM by MoviesMod https://ift.tt/2TgV89b
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