That Stephen King in his long career he has terrorized us in many ways it is well known, and over the years there have been many cinematographic transpositions that have sprung from his novels. One of these films was precisely Pet Sematary, inspired by the king's tale of the same name, thirty years ago he accompanied the audience of that time to the cinemas, who, after the vision, could not help but look over their shoulders. However, many of the criticisms leveled at that production were related to its not-so-extreme fidelity to the novel, placing the film as very enjoyable but quite far from what fans expected. 2019 and Paramount Pictures they lead us to a modern production, trying in a certain sense to follow the good path opened by the new version of IT proposed by Warner Bros. a couple of years ago. Pet Sematary will hit theaters on May 9th.
In the direction of the director we find the couple formed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, an arduous task that not only seeks to replicate moments and sensations that print media has given for years, but also to combining old and new in a horror context suitable for today's audience.
A new beginning
Trying to find a place that best suits his needs as a father of a family, the doctor Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) decides to move with his wife and two children to a small town in Maine. Boston is indeed a city that did not allow Dr. Creed to spend enough time with Ellie e Gage, and the tranquility of a green area surrounded by woods was just what was needed. However, peace is not only not destined to last, but not even to begin. In fact, little Ellie discovers with her mother Rachel (Amy Seimetz) one strange cemetery just behind the house, a small portion of land used for generations to bury their pets. The discovery of that place will be what will trigger a series of events, especially after making the acquaintance of the kind neighbor. Jud Crandall (John lithgow).
In this film, Ludlow's events are reconstructed in a much more faithful way than in the first film adaptation, especially as regards the way in which the psyche of the characters has been described. However, some choices dictated by the needs of the big screen have "dampened" some of the key concepts in the 101 minutes of film, failing to investigate them properly. On the directing level, the work done by the duo Kölsch / Widmyer he was not excelled, limiting itself to structuring the events in a certain timeline and adapting to contemporary horror, with a good dose of jumpscare, but often useless. On the other hand, the "natural" way in which the fears of the interpreters are gradually "stripped" is good, triggering a chain of unhealthy malaise within the viewer, making him anxiously participate in the story. Discrete scenes where the presence of blood and disturbing elements occur, which however compensate for a rather slow and flat first phase of the film.
The cast's interpretation goes through ups and downs, with one Amy Seimetz slightly under tone and a Jason Clarke which has seen better days, but with great applause for the work done by the very young Jeté Laurence in the role of Ellie.
What the film unfortunately fails to a great extent is precisely what it was born for: to scare. Beyond the presence of the aforementioned disturbing elements such as creaks, displaced bones, blood and so on, Pet Sematary focuses on a series of jumpscare - mostly telephone calls - based heavily on the audio sector. Another defect not to be underestimated is how part of the story loses credibility because it is combined with a "false" concern.
