Pet Sematary remake has found its new directors

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Stephen King is all the rage at the movies and on TV again, with IT raking in Marvel money; GERALD’S GAME and 1922 wooing everyone on Netflix and; Hulu’s CASTLE ROCK series is on the way. The hits are out-weighing the misses (*cough THE DARK TOWER cough*) at this point, and now Paramount is getting in the game by announcing the long-gestating remake of PET SEMATARY is moving forward with two new directors.

News broke last night that the studio has officially hired the writers and directors of the indie film STARRY EYES, Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch, to helm the movie. The script is from Jeff Buhler (MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN), and though nothing has been announced in regard to a release, chances are the studio will want to get to work fast.

The story is one of King’s more popular ones and was made into a movie back in 1989 by Mary Lambert, and though it didn’t score with the critics was a hit at the box office, spawning a forgettable sequel. The original story involves a family moving into a new home, only to discover that a Pet Sematary is located nearby, where it is said animals that are buried there come back to life. Things get weird when their cat dies and is brought back to life, and soon they discover that humans buried there don’t come back the same as they were before. Sometimes…dead is better.

The last director to show an interest in the remake was IT director Andy Muschietti, and though the studio probably would’ve loved to snag him he is deep into IT: CHAPTER TWO, which will go into production next year for a 2019 release. 

So many of King's movies have gotten movie treatments, but there are a few that are off limits to mainstream remakes, like THE SHINING (though it was turned into a miniseries), SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and STAND BY ME. But even loved ones like CARRIE from Brian De Palma have gotten remakes, and SEMATARY I feel is one that could actually benefit from a different take.  However, I think it will be hard to recapture the magic of Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall. Very few people could rock overalls like him.