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.
The book's creepy premise justifies this modern second look, which proves to be a solid if not earthshaking horror pic built around notably good performances.
The original was solid but I've been looking forward to the remake for a while. So much that could've been easily improved on and it looks like they've gotten it right.
Everyone has been talking about how the trailer shows the whole movie. I am certain the familiar shots from that trailer were misdirection. There's going to be some twists. Looking forward to this one.
Everyone has been talking about how the trailer shows the whole movie. I am certain the familiar shots from that trailer were misdirection. There's going to be some twists. Looking forward to this one.
Just got out of seeing this. Not bad. I'm still debating if I liked this one better than the original, I mean its certainly looks better and the acting is better but the original felt creepier.
I will say this:
Spoiling that the daughter was the one that dies was such a mistake because they do everything right before that point to make you think it's going to be Gage like the original. Though don't worry, they add a lot of new stuff and the ending is completely different.
Saw this today. Woah boy, that final 30 minutes or so certainly is a trip. lol I knew from the reviews that they changed a lot of stuff but I wasn't expecting that at all.
Still unsure how I feel about it. It's absolutely a better looking and acted movie than the original but it wasn't anything special or all that scary really bar 1 or 2 scenes.
- The Zelda stuff was so disappointing. Did we even get a full shot of her? It was all half shots and quick cut-aways for some reason.
- No Norma once again. Why do they keep doing this!? She's a pivotal character in bringing Jud and Louis closer and Jud telling Louis about the burial ground in the first place. I was also puzzled at Jud's reaction to Ellie's death as they only had 1 or 2 scenes together. We needed a lot more time between those two characters for that kind of reaction scene.
- Cat is evil again (though far less so than the older movie thankfully) instead of just walking funny and being smelly. Why would you bury your daughter there when you saw what the cat came back as?
These plot points make no sense when you remove those aspects of the story. Why can't they get this right?
- The graveyard scene and the turmoil and pain Louis goes through trying to get in and out is my favourite part of the book.
Here he just hops a waist high stone wall and the scene is done in 30 seconds. Fuck sake.
+ All the cult stuff hinted at with the masked kids in the trailer was thankfully just a red herring. That would have been awful.
+ The look of Church was absolutely perfect. I don't know if that was a CG cat at points or just an incredibly well trained real one but they got it spot on. Well, apart from it being angry all the time. At least he didn't throw a rat at Louis!
+ I liked the big twist of Ellie dying instead of Gage. Ellie is the one you have a greater connection to and it hits harder when it's she that dies. Gage is a bit of a nothing character in this movie.
+ All the stuff with Louis and Ellie after she comes back was great and creepy as fuck. The acting from that young girl was amazing.
- The second big change of Ellie dragging her mother to the burial grounds was a bit ridiculous. It got very schlocky at that point. How did she even drag her up over that tree?
- The zombie family final shot. lol
Worth watching. But don't expect a faithful adaptation of the book is all.
Unfamiliar with the book and I saw the original movie a loooong time ago so I'll be going into this one pretty fresh. Trailer looks great, glad to hear it's reviewing well.
I'm glad it's reviewed pretty well. I just read the book, though I'd seen the original movie before and liked it. Pet Sematary 2, although it's not great by any means.
Church was acted by four different cats
Gage was acted by twins.
It was a bit daft, a bit fun. I never read the book and had only seen the other movie.
I also liked the truck accident twist
The car door lock noise at the very end was daft, the child was nowhere near the locks.
Now that they're all dead, where are they going to live? Their house will be sold on.
Kinda surprised this is reviewing so well, though I did notice the score has dropped quite a bit since those early SXSW reviews.
I thought it was a competent remake but not really much more - it wasn't as laughable as the original and did basically everything better, but the direction was super flat and lacking in atmosphere, a lot of the editing was really awful and only John Lithgow and the girl was really gave good performances.
The CGI and fake slow-mo during the truck scene was SO bad.
The "twist" was clearly meant to be surprising so it's a shame the trailers ruined it like 2 months ago lmao
How is Lithgow? Having found the courage to watch the original recently and just listening to Dexter Morgan bring Judd to life in the audio book, this accentless Lithgow got me feeling off.
I've just watched the trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK0LNzU2TQI ) having read TheGhost's comment. It does indeed give away one of the departures. A shame really.
Having just read the book last month I found this pretty bad. There is no close relationship developed between Louis and Judd which make the plot developments seem totally off to me.
Damn. I'm reading the book right now, about 70% through. I was planning on finishing it and watching this movie but I guess I should just wait till it hits home video right? I saw the original when I was young but kind of forgot it
Damn. I'm reading the book right now, about 70% through. I was planning on finishing it and watching this movie but I guess I should just wait till it hits home video right? I saw the original when I was young but kind of forgot it
Good to know. Perhaps later I'll see this version and end night with the original one. Probably get best of both worlds :P
Are you reading/read any horror book at the moment you would like to recommend?
Good to know. Perhaps later I'll see this version and end night with the original one. Probably get best of both worlds :P
Are you reading/read any horror book at the moment you would like to recommend?
Just saw this after not having seen the original or read the book and liked it well enough, better than It Chapter 2 at least, but holy shit that 2nd trailer really does give basically everything away.
Yeah I read the book leading up to the theatrical release and hated the movie, reading the book definitely coloured it though, it's a terrible adaptation.
The OP was very confusing. I thought there was another Pet Sematary film and was like, wth when did this happen after the mediocre one last year and how did it do so well critically? Then I saw the date.
The OP was very confusing. I thought there was another Pet Sematary film and was like, wth when did this happen after the mediocre one last year and how did it do so well critically? Then I saw the date.
The OP was very confusing. I thought there was another Pet Sematary film and was like, wth when did this happen after the mediocre one last year and how did it do so well critically? Then I saw the date.
Necrobump is ok since the movie released on Netflix not long ago over here :P
It was awful, honestly. Well, the first 20 minutes before i quit were anyway.
Cinematography, absolutely unnecessary use of by-the-numbers creepy music, the way the movie actively tries to erase Gage from the family (i mean, at one point mom and daughter wander into the woods presumably leaving him home alone, wtf ??) which gives away what I imagine is the major twist
he doesn't get run over by a truck. The girl does ? I quit before that part
I expected to enjoy Lithgow at least, but am I supposed to believe they built a strong enough relationship with the family he can talk to the father about the Native American burial place after sharing the screen for a whole 14 seconds ?
Nah, it was rubbish.
EDIT: read the spoilers above, it's not like i'm ever going to watch or enjoy the rest of this anyway.
Yep, just like i thought. I mean, the movie does absolutely nothing to make you remember Gage even exists.
Most SK adaptations concentrate on the horror aspect and forget what makes a lot of his books great: it's the people, it's the relationship between the characters and exploring their believable reactions to unbelievable events.
I thought it was fine but I think my standards are lower than average. I am surprised at the stark difference between the critic scores and all the negative reactions I've heard
I mean that's the confusing part, because Pet Sematary ended up with a mid-50 RT score, so it didn't do too well critically. It's just that apparently it started out very strong at 90%, as per the OP, but evidently it nosedived to what it is now -- and has been for months.
Anywhoooo, I too found it pretty meh, but for someone who never read the books nor seen the earlier film adaption in the 90s, it was watchable. I've seen worse horror films, especially in the last couple of years, but definitely much better ones as well. I'd rate it 5 out of 10 personally.
I mean that's the confusing part, because Pet Sematary ended up with a mid-50 RT score, so it didn't do too well critically. It's just that apparently it started out very strong at 90%, as per the OP, but evidently it nosedived to what it is now -- and has been for months.
Anywhoooo, I too found it pretty meh, but for someone who never read the books nor seen the earlier film adaption in the 90s, it was watchable. I've seen worse horror films, especially in the last couple of years, but definitely much better ones as well. I'd rate it 5 out of 10 personally.
Yeah a 50% is accurate. It wasn't that bad, my issue was just that it was forgettable. I didn't realize it fell off critically after release
Probably because the trailers spoiled literally everything, and being that I go to the movies at least once a week, sometimes up to 3 times, all I saw for weeks were trailers for this movie.
