Have you ever loved a stray cat? I’m not talking a cute kitten on a doorstep. I’m talking the king of the block—he’s scruffy, mean, and not really put together right. He’s got a scar over an eye and he’s missing an ear, but it’s also those hallmarks of survival that deepen that soft spot you have for him. His hair is gnarled and matted—not just because he won’t let a brush near it, but because even he refuses to groom himself in what feels like a defiant stance against what society might expect of him. Of course he won’t let you touch him without a hiss, you could never cuddle him, and you’d better be ready for him to draw blood if you dare reach out, but still, you kind of have to admit—you love him.
Well, dear readers, if you have ever loved such a cat, you know exactly how I feel about Pet Sematary (2019). And it’s not just because the grumpy undead feline Church features prominently in this remake of the original 1989 film based on a Stephen King classic. It’s also because this choppy, confusing, at times even laughable mess of a film still pays proper homage to the original while updating it for today and adding a few unexpected and creative twists along the way.
In the 2019 remake, much starts off the same. Young couple Rachel and Dr. Louis M.D. move to the country with their two children, Ellie and Gage. They soon befriend an elderly neighbor named Jud (played 
unsurprisingly well by master of stage and screen John Lithgow—I’m sure this is blasphemy but I never thought Fred Gwynne’s histrionics were the right fit for Jud—still love you though, Fred, RIP). In no time, Louis settles into his new job and the family into their new home, but tragedy strikes the family’s sweet cat Church, and Louis knows Ellie will be heartbroken if she finds out. Luckily, Jud has an idea, and it has something to do with that creepy little spot in the forest that the town’s children have labeled “Pet Sematary.” Jud shows Louis that there’s something special about the land beyond that pile of pet patellas—something that might save Ellie all that pain. But is it worth it? Or maybe sometimes, dead is better?
I must pause here and mention, dear readers, that the original Pet Sematary will always hold a very special place in my
heart. I saw it when I was just four, and it was my very first horror film. Ever. Technically I was dragged along to the theater with my mother by my insistent older brother and sister, and I spent all but the first five minutes of the film huddled in my mother’s lap, facing the back of the theater, asleep—but it was still my first horror film, and it set a very high bar for any subsequent remake.
Honestly, the 2019 version almost doesn’t pass muster. Much like our beloved cat Church, this film is not a clean, well-put-together one. The first half drags along quietly and unceremoniously, almost in a daze, only throwing out a few novel departures from the original that merit nothing more than a lazy lift of the brow. But then something happens, and the plot takes a hard left turn away from the original. Nothing is like you remember it, so you have no idea what’s up next, let alone what will happen in the end.
I won’t spoil it, but some of the changes amp up the scares quite delightfully—just when you thought Rachel’s flashbacks to her dying, disabled sister Zelda couldn’t get any scarier, they do. (Although I don’t have space here to dive into the many complexities surrounding the way Zelda’s spinal meningitis is used to villainize her in both films, I’ll just leave this thoughtful piece of writing here for you to review at another time—but I digress). The film(re)makers also do some pretty creative work with sound engineering, and they eliminate many of the tired, cheesy, 80s horror aspects of the 1989 film, preserving just enough of them to pay proper homage to the orig.
Is this a super creative, mind-blowing, top-of-the-line horror film? No. Is it better than the original? I mean, is the answer ever yes? Could you do better by checking out the best films out on Netflix right now? Perhaps. Nevertheless, much like that scrappy alley cat that seems to claw its way out of fights and back home night after night, Pet Sematary (2019) is a film that earns your respect by the time the credits roll.
SpecialK Verdict: Especially if you’ve seen the original, check out Pet Sematary (2019)—keep your expectations low, but don’t be surprised if like an unrelenting, cantankerous tomcat, it battles its way into your favor.
Pet Sematary (2019) opens everywhere Friday, April 5.
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