Writer/director Lindsey Beer continues to assemble a great cast for her Pet Sematary prequel, which is being made specifically for the Paramount Plus streaming service. The latest additions are Henry Thomas and Samantha Mathis. Thomas is best known for his childhood role in E.T., but has gone on to earn credits in such projects as Psycho IV: The Beginning, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald’s Game, The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep, and The Haunting of Bly Manor, among many others. Mathis has always been popular in my household for her roles in The Thing Called Love and Pump Up the Volume. Her other credits include Super Mario Bros., Broken Arrow, American Psycho, The Punisher (2004), Under the Dome, The Strain, The Clovehitch Killer, and more.
Based on a novel by Stephen King, the first Pet Sematary told the following story:
Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, relocate from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. The couple soon discover a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his neighbor Jud Crandall, setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unspeakable evil with horrific consequences.
Pet Sematary 2019 (watch it HERE) writer Jeff Buhler wrote a draft of the screenplay for this film before Lindsey Beer came on board to write and direct. Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian, the prequel began filming last week.
Thomas and Mathis join previously announced cast members Jackson White, Natalie Alyn Lind, Pam Grier, Jack Mulhern, Forrest Goodluck, and newcomer Isabella Star LaBlanc. White is playing a young version of the character Jud Crandall. An elderly Jud was played by Fred Gwynne in the 1989 version of Pet Sematary (watch it HERE) and by John Lithgow in the 2019 movie.
The ’89 film was followed by a sequel in 1992, and you can watch Pet Sematary II at THIS LINK.