It's been rumored for some time that there would be a Pet Sematary remake. Well, it appears it's going to happen.
Is there a need for a remake?
I find myself wondering what was wrong with the first Pet Sematary? If you want to remake a King movie, is this really the one that cries out -- "Fix me!"
The MTV blog said this: Why? "Pet Sematary" is a damn scary Stephen King adaptation. The Maine writer was on his game back in 1983 when the book was first published, and the 1989 movie directed by Mary Stuart was actually quite good. It was creepy, it captured the tone of the novel and it told a good story.
Film School Rejects writes, Mary Lambert’s 1989 film of the novel is an under-seen horror gem as far as I’m concerned. The acting is solid throughout, especially from Gwynne (as the neighbor who shares too much) and Miko Hughes as little Gage Creed. It’s a scary and at times emotionally devastating movie (and novel) and I really don’t see how it can be improved.
So the question is pretty simple: Why this one? Hey, remake Dolores Claiborne! Remake Silver Bullet. Remake IT. Remake Firestarter. How about a remake of The Runningman and Graveyard Shift. What about Sleepwalkers or Lanmowerman. (Or any other movie ending with "man.") Or how about a remake of Dreamcatcher? But Pet Semetary?! I don't get it.
Some remakes I thought were pretty good:
1. The Carrie mini-series. 2002
2. The Shining. 1997
3. Trucks. 1997
What I like about Pet Sematary:
1. Fred Gwynne.
2. It catches the tone of the book. Very dark, creepy and unafraid to explore death.
3. The final line, "Darling."
4. The kid killing Fred Gwynne was great!
I haven't seen Dolores Claiborne, but until I read your blog nearly all reports I've seen say it's awesome. I doubt it's high on Hollywood's remake chart.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think much of Pet Sematary. It's going to be on my Adapting the King blog and I think it could benefit from a remake.
But then, it's clear that our tastes are different as I thought all three remakes you liked were bad. The 2013 Carrie is much better than the 2002 version, but the 1976 one hasn't been topped yet.