It was just earlier today that we shared with you guys the new trailer for STARRY EYES directing duo Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer's upcoming remake of Stephen King's PET SEMATARY. The trailer revealed a big twist on the original novel and Mary Lambert's original film… but in case you don't know what that is yet, let me put this out there. HERE THERE BE SPOILERS.
That out of the way, yes, today's new trailer revealed that it will be Ellie Creed and not little Gage Creed that gets run down by the infamous Orinoco truck. And today in a statement the remake's filmmakers addressed these unfortunate series of events. You can read their comments below and then decide for yourself if this is the right way to go on a remake of PET SEMATARY.
Dennis Widmyer:
That twist was in the script when we came on board, and straight away you could see that it was one of the smartest things in the script. It was new and fresh but also absolutely kept the essence of the novel. One of the things we liked about the novel is that it’s always the character of Ellie who is asking about these things. She’s asking about her cat dying one day and asking all these big questions. So, it felt right for it to be her, to echo these questions to her Dad, to resolve these earlier conversations that we’ve had. It felt like a nice way to connect that theme.
Kevin Kolsch adds:
You’ve got to be sure that you’re making changes for the right reasons, not just a shock factor. And changing it to Ellie makes absolute sense to the story.
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura:
I’ve been lucky enough to have worked on something like 80 different book or graphic novel [adaptations]. And I think the truth of any success is that if you treat it literally you get in trouble because it feels very static and stale. But if you make too many changes then you’ve lost the essence of what it is. This treads the perfect line. It is about embracing what the book is trying to say, and not trying to change its tone, its rhythm, and its perspective, while also evolving things forward.
I'm just going to reserve my feelings about this change to the original book and movie until I get the chance to sit down with the remake in theaters this April. Truth be told, I'm not a fan of the switch-up but I'm willing to give it a day in court and see if it really improves the story overall. If not? Boo.
What do you think? Let us know below!
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.
Dr. Louis Creed, who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (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, 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!
PET SEMATARY hits theaters April 5, 2019. Check out the new poster below!