Warning. Spoilers for Pet Sematary follow (but not if you’ve seen the trailer)…
If you watched this week’s trailer for the upcoming Pet Sematary remake, and you’re familiar with Stephen King’s 1983 novel or the 1989 feature film, you’d have noticed that this new version includes a major deviation from its original source material.
In King’s book, Louis Creed uses the titular cemetery to resurrect his son Gage, after the toddler is tragically killed when he’s run over by a truck. However, the new movie switches things up, with Louis’ daughter Ellie returning from the dead rather than Gage.
So, why the change? Well, speaking to Entertainment Weekly, directors Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kölsch and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura have explained their reasoning:
“Trust me, we were nervous about it,” said di Bonaventura. “Gage is so young, you can’t really do that much with him. So this way, we’re able to really get underneath our affected child. We’re able to get into the psychological horror of a child [coming back] because of her age.”
“Much of how they shot the first [movie] was a doll,” stated Widmyer said. “It’s creepy and it’s effective. But we’ve now seen Child’s Playand we’ve seen the little kid trying to kill, and it’s effective when done right, but …”
“There are things that we put back in that, if people didn’t read the book, they’re going to think they are things that we’ve changed [from the 1989 film],” added Kölsch. “‘Why’d they make her say these lines?’ But if you read the book, these are things that are taken right out of it that just didn’t make it into the original movie because they probably couldn’t have a 3-year-old do it.”
“There was something about an 8-year-old and the psychology that she would have,” continued Widmyer. “She would understand what happened to her on the road. She would understand that she’s dead. She would know how to not only physically kill a person, but psychologically destroy them as well. It just gave another layer to it.”
What do you make of this change? Are you fine with it, or would you have preferred the filmmakers’ to stick to the novel? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @FlickeringMyth…
“Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.”
Pet Sematary is set to open on April 4th 2019 and sees Jason Clarke (Winchester) takes on the lead role of Louis Creed, while the cast also includes Amy Seimetz (Alien: Covenant), John Lithgow (The Crown), Jeté Laurence (The Americans), Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie.
Originally published February 10, 2019. Updated December 6, 2022.
