The Stephen King cinematic renaissance continues at full force.
When a doctor and his family move to the Maine countryside for a cozier lifestyle in order to better bond with one another, they discover that their land is home to the Pet Semetary, a burial ground for pets started by local children generations ago.
Appearing initially harmless, they soon discover upon the
death of their cat that the soil of the burial ground has some particularly
dangerous properties, forcing the family to seek it out to their advantage
while questioning the ethics of doing so upon being stricken by an unexpected
tragedy.
Of all the modern Stephen King hits to land in this new age
of "Pet Semetary" is the one that feels most like a real throwback to
an age of horror faire gone by.
Directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer establish a
surprisingly intimate feel for a production this noticeably glossy. The tone
that they set up effectively perpetuates a creepy and uneasy atmosphere that
never goes overboard on making the new Creed family residence feel unwelcoming
but leaves everything feel just slightly off to send warning that something
about the place just doesn't feel right.
The up close camerawork and cinematography focusing on the
feeling of countryside isolation carries through from start to finish and
embodies the sort of old fashioned horror story that its source material came
from with a nice bit of modern flair.
"Pet Semetary" uses these tools to great effect to
tell a drama about the human struggle to come to terms with grief and how the
means by which we do so, be it the logical understanding of the cycle of life,
or faith in the universe metaphysically operating with an afterlife that we may
only know via personal experience, are irrelevant to the reality that grief
will consume and destroy a person and their loved ones if they don’t grapple
with it.
No more perfectly is this conveyed than with the
multilayered performances of the cast.
Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz excellently carry a nature vs.
nurture dynamic in their conflicting parenting methods for preparing their
children for the reality of death, drawing on their relatable perspectives born
from post traumatic stress regarding the suffering endured by a loved one in
intensive care and grappling with the weight of watching people die as an
unfortunate possibility of one's chosen career path, while still coming across
as an authentic loving couple.
Their daughter, played by Jeté Laurence, manages to solidly
hold her own as bright, lively, and impressionable young girl caught between
the two styles of her parents on a matter that can't seem to be reconciled,
while turning out a creepy inversion of her performance in the third act of the
film that comes off as effectively creepy rather than the campiness that it
could have descended into.
John Lithgow is of course as reliable as ever, serving as
neighbor Judd, relaying the legends of the Pet Semetary and the horrors that
come to be but without becoming the creepy old codger stereotypes that these
types of horror films seem to prey upon, adding a fair bit of charm and
humanity to an already intimate production.
While the layers of coping with death and grief become
fascinating to deconstruct as the film chugs along, “Pet Semetary” is
ultimately, above all else, a good old fashioned supernatural horror story and
even when the themes aren’t paraded front and center, it gets by on atmosphere,
intensity, and a genuine care you develop for a family whose hearts are clearly
in the right place.
If the movie does falter anywhere, it’s third act feels more
than a little bit rushed and mean-spirited compared to the tone maintained
throughout the rest of the film, though I do give credit where its do on not
copping out on the unfortunate circumstances the Creed family finds themselves
in by the time of the conclusion.
8 Walking Dead Lol Cats out of 10
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