The latest version of Pet Sematary returns us to rural Maine, where Louis and Amy Creed (Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz) come to live with their young children Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (twins Hugo and Lucas Lavoie).
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When the family cat, Church, is hit by a truck on the nearby highway, it's a chance for Ellie to learn about the nature of death, a topic that creates some tension between her parents, who disagree on whether their daughter should imagine a consoling afterlife.
Another way of looking at the situation is proposed by the Creeds' new neighbour, a blotchy-skinned old-timer named Jud (John Lithgow). Confiding in Louis one evening, he hints the pet cemetery out in the woods has supernatural powers, while failing to make clear they come at a price.
In between the big, upfront moments of emotion, directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer play everything fairly straight, allowing Clarke and Seimetz to give restrained, naturalistic performances. Even the more gruesome scenes are rarely allowed to cross the line into camp. The climax is more emotional and less likely to elicit unwanted laughs. Also changed is the ending, which gives King's cruel plot one more turn of the screw. Routine in many respects, Pet Sematary is also a rarity - a horror film which takes death seriously, as a natural phenomenon to be accepted and respected.
Fays Twin Cinema Taree session details page 7.