Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Pet Sematary' (2019)

Jesus fucking Christ, Jete' Laurence is fucking creepy. Can we take a minute to appreciate, that at no point, did she fuck this role up with a Silent Hill moment? That speaks volumes for her talent as a little actress. Hope she carries it.

Speaking of acting, what a fantastic fucking cast. John Lithgow, Amy Seimetz, fucking forget about it. Those two alone could have carried this movie with their performance. Throw in Jete', and it's just acting overkill.

So the lingering question, that I'm sure has been on all you filthy mutant's fucking minds... Is it worth the remake? Is it better? Well, no, not better, just different. Look, we can't talk about this movie without bringing up the original, and we can't talk about the original, without admitting to ourselves that it was kind of fucking cheese. Look, the original has a soft spot in my heart (that could be necrosis), but it was cheesy as fuck. The acting was cheese, the atmosphere was cheesy, shit, the creepy little Gage was kinda cheesy. But, that's why we loved it. It was cheesy, creepy, and fun as all fucking hell.

This one was just more serious, and that's where it is both better but also kind of fails to be better. Serious is good, if you can really nail it home. Now, as mentioned before, the acting was just spectacular and really fucking drives it home. The dialog was also just fantastic and the emoting by the actors in the dialog was fucking gripping. However, it was a bit over the top. It was like everyone was just fucking crying all the damn time and it did get a bit draining.

The atmosphere, for the most part, was fucking solid. The problem is, when they breach the barrier into the Wendigo swamps, it gets really fucking cartoonish. Here's the thing, they must have known they fucked it up too. If you saw the previews, you'll notice the swamps look gritty, dark, and forbidding. But, when you watch the movie, they're just fucking cartoonish. They don't feel real, or even surreal, they just feel fake.

What pisses me off about this is how solid, real, and fucking creepy everything else feels, but then you get to the swamps and it's like they phoned it the fuck in. Now, this isn't the only thing they fucked up, but I can't get into the rest outside the spoilers. Here's the thing, I mentioned in an interview with Madness Heart Press, that the directors were little known and I was really familiar with anything under their belt. Frankly, they were too green and they made some rookie mistakes.

So, is it better than the original? No, it's not better or worse, it's just different. Is it worth watching? Yeah, I highly recommend this to general audiences. There's enough good movie here for even casual viewers to enjoy. Not a must watch by any means, but definitely worth watching if you give it a chance.

SPOILERS!!!

I'm not sure if the motivation of Victor Pascow really tracks. Also, does "black guy dies first" count if the actor gets to live on as a ghost? I mean, they gave Obssa Ahmed plenty of screen time, but why have a black actor if you just pigeon hole the guy into the same ol' horror stereotype. And this is the second place they phoned it in. Not by killing him, but by giving him shit dialog and crappy FX. This was the second thing that felt cartoony in this movie. It's like they didn't even try with the FX. Worse, it was practical FX, and that's not something a major Hollywood production has any excuse fucking up. It's a rookie mistake, once again proving the directors just weren't ready.

You know what I did appreciate in this remake that I feel was missing in the original? They really got solidly into the motivations of each character. While Jud from the original was just like, "Every kid should have their animal raised from the dead at least once in their life," this Jud was like, "I wanted to make the kid happy, but it plays on your emotions, calling you back, using it against you." Now that's really deep stuff. Not to mention they just layer on the history with Rachel Creed's sister. And, MY FUCKING GOD, that is jut some brutal portrayal of abuse. It got me straight up shook. Good body horror too with the FX on her sister. So, please fucking explain to me how they got that right, but fucked up Victor Pascow?

All in all, outside of its failings, it was a pretty solid movie and I'd recommend it to anyone.