One of Stephen King‘s famous tales of reanimation gone awry was reimagined in 2019 with Pet Sematary from Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. John Lithgow would portray Jud Crandall in that adaptation. Now, behold the beginning of the story as Pet Sematary: Bloodlines shows fans how Jud first discovered the cursed graveyard. Paramount+ has just released the new trailer for the horror prequel. Those who wish to see it before its streaming premiere will be able to catch its debut at Fantastic Fest, which is set to be held at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, from September 21st – 28th. The movie will then be available on Paramount+ on October 6.
This film is boasting that it is an untold chapter from Stephen King’s original beloved story. The synopsis for Pet Sematary: Bloodlines will involve “a young Jud Crandall in 1969, who has dreams of leaving his hometown behind but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history that will forever keep him connected to the town. Banding together, Jud and his childhood friends must fight an ancient evil that has gripped Ludlow since its founding and, once unearthed, has the power to destroy everything in its path.”
The film stars Jackson White (Tell Me Lies), Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant), Jack Mulhern (Mare of Easttown), Henry Thomas (The Haunting of Hill House), Natalie Alyn Lind (The Goldbergs), Isabella Star LaBlanc (True Detective: Night Country), Samantha Mathis (The Thing Called Love), Pam Grier (Jackie Brown), and David Duchovny (The X-Files).
The director, Linsdey Anderson Beer co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Buhler, who had also been a writer on the 2019 reboot of Pet Sematary. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines was produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian.
IGN was able to speak to Beer, who explained his intentions with the prequel. “For me, Jud Crandall, played first brilliantly by Fred Gwynne and then John Lithgow, steals the show in both movie adaptations.” Beer continued to expound, “The book calls Jud the ‘guardian of the woods.’ But how did he become its guardian? That suggested to me an untold legacy and history that I was excited to explore, and pull more on all the interesting mythological threads in King’s text. Pet Sematary is also so heavily focused on the poor decisions of parents, that I was excited to tell this story from the perspective of a younger generation looking at their parents and their choices. I’m always interested in generational trauma and generational sin.”