There are several thousands reviews and comparisons between the 2 versions of Pet Sematary online.
What worked, what didn’t… what was close to the book, what changed.
The actors, the cats, the masks, it’s all been said before.
Pet Sematary was elevated horror that was born in slasher times for the first movie, and the second one had a much darker tone with less substance.
When grief is rushed
But you know what was the most suprising ? The pace.
It’s a story about grief. About failing, about giving up what little humanity we have left in our darkest moments, but above all, it’s about death.
Learning about it, accepting it, letting go. It should be deeply impactful and emotionnal. Grief takes time.
It should be messy. It should be human.
While the first one dragged on a bit too long, you could at least get the absolute destruction Gage’s death caused the family. This one feels likes it brushes past it, to be able to have time to switch the ending.
It was a fun ride, I’m not going to lie, but everything happened too fast to let you feel anything too deeply.
Sure eating a sundae is nice, but first let me enjoy my fries.
The ghost of 1989 : Gage vs. Ellie
I’m certain that nostalgia plays a huge part in that feeling, but the Creeds felt like everyday people, who experienced a tragedy, and couldn’t cope in 1989.
When Gage was grabbed in the new version, I could instantly picture the new ending they were going for…
It’s a nice twist, but it lacks the trauma that sinks into your brain.
Maybe we collectively watched Pet Sematary way too young, but Gage’s death is engrained in my memory for ever.
Ellie’s ? Not so much.
Maybe it’s the shoe ? Nah, it’s just more bland.
It’s a bummer too. Because they weren’t scared to use more gore, more vicious torture methods, but it didn’t pay off as much in the end.
Church was adorable in both though. I did miss his glowing eyes.
Beyond the Creeds
The imagery of the procession with animal masks was great. I’d love a movie about that.
About how the entire town knows about the cemetery that brings pets back as deranged demon versions, but still choose to bury them there anyway. Like a deranged cult unleashing mayhem and death willingly.
Or maybe having to feed the spirits ?
No Creeds allowed though.
This is the better media hidden within. This is how you could, in the 2000s, bring back a beloved household name without tarnishing its legacy.
They did this with « Welcome to Derry ».
Take the lore of your original story, and expand on it. They already have the visuals and the place, it’d be easy to create new characters that move into town, only for all the pets around them to behave strangely, smell like decomposing bodies and try to kill them.
Or discover animal masks in their backyard and try to dig deeper into what they are and why they’re there.
Sure, we know it’s linked to the cemetery, but there is sooooo much to expand on, besides the Creeds and Jud.
Hell, they could even install a speed limit on that damn road by the end of the season.
This had the potential to be so much better than it was.