STARRY EYES directing duo Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer's upcoming remake of Stephen King's PET SEMATARY held its World Premiere at SXSW this weekend. And the reviews are in. The film currently holds an 83% over on Rotten Tomatoes with six reviews now counted, and only one of them is "rotten." I wasn't at this year's SXSW, so I haven't had the chance to see the movie yet, but that said, you can look over what some of the thought the critics that were there have. Faux Spoiler Alert: It's good news.
Chris Evangelista – Slashfilm
Directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer take the terror that Stephen King forged and mold it into something fresh, and exciting, and downright horrifying. Pet Sematary is one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever.
Monica Castillo – TheWrap
Its terrifying story about death still leaves audiences with much to think about long after the credits roll, and the twists that lead to a new ending are fun to follow.
Perri Nemiroff – Collider
Pet Sematary isn't striving to be an easy communal crowdpleaser. Just like the source material, it's a movie with a real thoughtful mean streak that'll chill you to the bone, and ensure you remain on edge well after it concludes.
Dan Caffrey – Consequence of Sound
While the changes to the source material are guaranteed to polarize some King fans, Pet Sematary bucks the remake trap of simply paying homage to an iconic piece of horror.
John DeFore – Hollywood Reporter
A solid if not earthshaking horror pic built around notably good performances.
But not all of the reviews are positive mind you. Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film it's only (current) rotten review saying:
Without the kind of small details that make these characters come to life, it's easy to feel that they exist only to be dispatched according to the directors' whims.
I guess we'll all be able to see for ourselves once PET SEMATARY opens in theaters near us on April 5th. Directed by Kolsch and Widmyer, PET SEMATARY stars Jason Clarke as Louis Creed, Amy Seimetz as Rachel Creed, Hugo and Lucas Lavoie as Gage Creed, Jeté Laurence as Ellie Creed, Obssa Ahmed as Victor Pascow, Alyssa Brooke Levine as Zelda, and Lithgow as Jud.
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.
King wrote the screenplay adaptation for the '89 film himself. This time the script was written by Jeff Buhler, who previously wrote the Clive Barker adaptation THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, developed the George R.R. Martin story Nightflyers into a television series, and wrote a remake of JACOB'S LADDER that has yet to be released. We'll let you know once we hear more on the remake but until then let us know what you think thus far below!
Don't forget to check out our set visit HERE.