'Pet Sematary' Trailer: "Sometimes Dead Is Better"

“Sometimes dead is better.” We can go back and forth all day about the value of remakes and reboots and whatnot, but in the end, as long as a movie delivers the goods, who really cares about the origins or source material? And I know this is just a trailer, and I know we still have to wait until April of next year, but this first trailer for the new adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary looks like it has the right stuff. Check it out.

I’ve read a decent amount of Stephen King, but I’m not one of the most dogged, steadfast fans—though his On Writing is my favorite of his books and one of the best books about writing out there. I’m hardly an expert is what I’m saying. But this, this is just my speed and has all of the things I want out of a horror movie, whether it came from the pen of the master or not. 

I love Mary Lambert’s 1989 version of Pet Sematary—it’s also one of the reasons why I have trouble spelling the actual word “cemetery.” But holy crap, Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, the duo behind Stary Eyes, look to up the ante substantially. Gah, those kids in creepy homemade masks staging a makeshift funeral procession, that pissed off monster cat, those skin crawling strings, John Lithgow as Jud Crandall? All of this, just all of it.

Here's the synopsis:

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 also stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and Hugo Lavoie as Gage—true story, since high school, I’ve always wanted to start a gnarly hardcore band called Gage after that creepy little bastard, though I’m sure that’s been done to death. It opens on April 5, 2019. In the meantime, also enjoy this poster.