Brandon’s Review:
Reboots, revivals and redundancy. Why not remake one of the classics, right? On the heels of all things regurgitated, especially after the box office success of the other Stephen King classic, IT, it’s only fitting to attempt the same with Pet Sematary. To quote the creepy neighbor, Jud, “Sometimes, dead is better”. In this case, the original film adaptation from 1989 is still the better version. While there were some twists incorporated in the 2019 version of Pet Sematary to make it a little different, it doesn’t rise to the level of the older version, in my opinion. For example, in the 1989 film, the young toddler boy, Gauge, is the one who gets hit by one of the speeding trucks in front of the Creed household, and is ultimately dug back up by his father to be buried in the mysterious forest to bring him back to life. *SPOILER ALERT* In the new version, it’s the older sister who gets killed by the truck, and she is the one who ultimately tries to kill the family in the end. There is something so much more creepy about a near toddler creeping around the house with a scalpel, slicing open heels and giggling maniacally. This is only one of a handful of examples that stood out to me that made the remake fall flat. I also love John Lithgow as an actor, but his interpretation of the neighbor, Jud, was not as good as the portrayal by Fred Gwynne. Overall, I give this reboot a sideways thumb. Wait for this to come out on video, no need to rush to the theaters.
