I found myself in the crosshairs when 2019’s “Pet Sematary” came out. Most times I’m okay with remakes or retellings of novels, especially when in this case it had been 30 years since the original Stephen King adaptation. When I heard Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer of “Starry Eyes” fame were directing I was giddy with anticipation. The crosshairs came when I was the only one of my friends who thought their adaption of King’s novel was drab, boring, and ultimately underwhelming. Reviews were mixed, and I’m sure if I gave the film a second chance I wouldn’t be so harsh on it.
CineDump Rating: ★★½
Then that inevitable sequel/prequel was announced as “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines,” and my eyes rolled so far back into my head that I probably should’ve gotten an MRI and a CT scan to make sure my brain wasn’t damaged. Like many fans of the horror genre, I too am sick of remakes, sequels, prequels, “requels,” and all other “re”s and “quel”s. Give us something new and refreshing, like the aforementioned “Starry Eyes.” Stop rehashing old stories with newer and more woke eyes; leave them alone and do something original. Of course, this would be straight-to-streaming, I thought. No one will pay money at the theater to see a second one of these. Still, I did my preproduction homework and saw the cast. Dang, I thought, now I have to see it. Jackson White (“Mrs. Fletcher”) in the lead alongside screen legends Henry Thomas, David Duchovny, and Pam Grier? I had two theories: Either this has promise, or they are really hurting for money.
Set in 1969, a young and built Jud Crandall is played in youth for the first time by Jackson White; Jud, if you will remember, was the creepy but charming old neighbor previously brought to life by Fred Gwynne and John Lithgow respectively. He and his girlfriend decide they’re going to join the Peace Corps to try and make a difference somehow since Jud’s draft number never came up for the Vietnam War. We later find out why his number was never drawn, but that’s for the viewer to find out themselves. Meanwhile, his estranged friend Timmy Baterman (Jack Mulhern) has returned from the fight and quite severely suffers from PTSD. But is that all he suffers from? Jud sticks around with his Native American pal Manny Rivers (Forrest Goodluck) to investigate just what Timmy and his father (Duchovny) are hiding. And what they’re hiding isn’t good.
I was pleasantly surprised by this. Sure, it has the preachy undertones of war versus peace, white man interfering with ancient Native American rituals, racism, etc., but those never seem to really take away from the terror of the film’s overall gritty hue. Not one actor performs badly; each one seems fully dedicated to the role. While the film is based on King’s classic novel “Pet Sematary,” it was for once nice to see some backstory as to what this evil lurking among the dead animals really is and where it came from. Streaming on Paramount Plus as an “original” for the service, I actually would’ve liked to see it on the silver screen. “Bloodlines” isn’t groundbreaking by any means, nor is it a new original and well-thought-out story. Still, with a talented ensemble cast and some creepy-as-hell imagery, I’d say it’s worth checking out with some microwave popcorn and a can of cold beer.
Jacob Scheer