I was walking home the other night and saw a cat in an alley that reminded me so much of my dear departed Figgy. It was so dark that I had to use the flashlight on my phone which allowed me to barely make out her form playfully rolling about on the cement in a come-hither way. I called to her but she wouldn't budge and I couldn't reach her myself because of a locked gate. I knew the gate on the other side of the block was open so I ran home, got some food and crept through the labyrinth of South Philly back yards to reach the cat only to find that she had disappeared. Then, as if cued by my disappointment, it started to rain. Of course, this cat wasn't Figgy but why did she look and act so much like her and wait a minute, it was so dark, I'm not one hundred percent sure I didn't hallucinate the whole thing. I've gone back to look for her several times and I'm leaving cat food in the back yard by the gate and yet I also know that what I'm really looking for I'll never find again. Figgy still seems just slightly out of my view at all times. I've mistaken a boot on the floor for her for a fraction of a second and for a flash I saw her running down the street but nope, it was a black bag blowing in the wind. I feel haunted.
In my state, I should have been ripe for the picking as far as the retelling of STEPHEN KING'S PET SEMATARY goes. Alas, I wish could say I connected with it better than I ultimately did. It spoke to me for sure, and it easily made me weepy but something about it ended up feeling detached from the deep well of guilt and grief ingrained in KING's tale. Jason Clarke is impeccable as Louis Creed so I'm certainly not blaming him. I pretty much hung on his every word and when he explains how death is a natural part of life to his dubious daughter Ellie (JETE LAURENCE), I was all ears wanting a fatherly figure to put my worries to rest as well. The most potent parts of KING's take on THE MONKEY'S PAW are nearly impossible to muddle because they are in the very bones of the story itself and this movie does right by those themes for the most part. There are more than a few alterations here and there, all of which I found at least interesting. The direction and editing are clever too, I wouldn't say the filmmakers (Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Wydmyer, the folks behind 2014's impressive STARRY EYES) have anything to be embarrassed by here; it's all reasonably sufficient and respectfully done. Yet it always feels like a product rather than a soulful exploration. It's missing madness and mojo. It's too restrained and in my opinion, not weird enough.
Frankly, I don't get how you drop a ball like Zelda. I can understand the desire to streamline the story a bit (although discarding the suicidal neighbor and the disapproving in-laws evaporates a great deal of the depressive tone) but declawing Zelda and almost refusing to look at her makes no sense to me. Anyone who has seen MARY LAMBERT's artful take on the material will remember Zelda (if they don't have her image burned into the inside of their retinas forever). Rachel Creed's sickly sister embodies the torturous guilt that frequently accompanies grief perhaps better than any other horror character I can think of. She's still very much present in this new telling, but she's sidelined and out of focus and avoided in a way that's almost cowardly. It's as if her unseemliness was considered too gauche for this production and so she's grounded and gifted a poorly executed dumbwaiter scare and let go. Maybe I just love Zelda too much. This is possible. I have a hard time letting things go.
I truly thought I was in the exact right mind space to appreciate every iota of PET SEMATARY but maybe the exact opposite was true. I will say I have no complaints about the cat(s) who portrayed Church and really how many horror films do you get that feature a feline character front and center? I just wish that they took it all a bit further, even the cemetery itself is lackluster and missing the shabby-chic, found object wonder of the previous telling (one positive thing this movie did do for me is that it made me appreciate LAMBERT's trippy IVAN ALBRIGHT-
Fittingly, PET SEMATARY may be back from the dead but this time it comes across like a lesser, blank-eyed facsimile. Maybe I was asking too much, maybe I was expecting this movie to replace the irreplaceable (not unlike that poor unreachable stray in the alley). To me, due to its subject matter, any version of KING"s PET SEMATARY is going to be fundamentally more interesting than the average studio movie coming down the pike but I'm pretty sure that the next time I want to revisit this painful tale, I'll be seeking out the still vibrant earlier incarnation. Well-groomed as it is, this new take lacks bite.
I think you were far too generous. I thought Starry Eyes was fantastic and was really looking forward to this but I found nothing redeeming about it except Amy Seimetz. And I'm not beholden to the original: I like it but don't love it.
raphaeladidas,
That makes me feel better- I thought I was being too harsh! I really enjoyed STARRY EYES too and think the directors have a lot of talent. I really like how they did the dream sequences in PS… but yeah, this really didn't work for me on a bunch of levels. What happened to Victor Pascow? They somehow made him ineffective too and I'd think he'd be an easy win just like Zelda. I appreciate that they wanted to change things but I also don't like that Ellie never even knows Church died; I think that removes a lot from the story. It also seemed like they wanted to keep Ellie pretty and presentable after she was dead which seemed like a missed opportunity too.
And I hate to say it- I didn't really care for Lithgow as Judd either-! Oh well, it seems this version does have some fans. I'm glad some people enjoyed it. Like you, I was disappointed.
I'm so sorry about your cat. Losing a pet is losing a member of the family. You are much more brave than I would have been. When my family dog passed away, I avoided anything to do with dogs for years! I haven't watched Cujo since! I think I fall under the catagory of really enjoying the remake. I found the guy who played louis fantastic. He just broadcast that all consuming grief and hopelessness to me. But nobody in my mind will ever replace Fred Gwynne as Jud. "Sometimes dead is betta." He was just an integral part of the movie from my childhood that he will just always be Jud in my brain. And I love John Lithgow, but maybe I missed the Maine accent just a bit. The main thing I noticed was the complete lack of gore, which felt odd to me. I really liked the ending, it kept that downbeat hopelessness, but where the hell was the gore? Can you imagine what an impact it would have had if they showed up looking like Denise Crosby had in the original? My hubby and I kinda got the impression that so much good stuff got left on the cutting room floor and I'm really hoping for a director's cut because I think it is was de-clawed before it hit theatres.
JennyD13,
Great to hear another point of view. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I agree Jason Clarke was outstanding as Louis. I think he was my favorite part of the movie. I think a little more gore or nastiness would have helped the movie for me too (and if Ellie showed up looking like Denise Crosby did that would have been terrifying). Lithgow is such a good actor, I know he could have nailed the accent if he wanted- found his character kind of bland compared to Gwynne's take for sure. And as much as I can't complain about the new Church (he was adorable) I didn't get a scary supernatural vibe from him like OG Church.
So relieved to read this, coming from you. I avoided this one like the plague. It's not like i'm a huge fan of the original.
Seems like yesterday that i went to the theater by myself as none of my friends were interested back in the day, shivering with antici… pation [i'd already read the novel about ten times, laughed with it, cried with it, even stopped reading it for days the first time around, when i reached the part where King spoils Cage's death, as i thought i wouldn't be able to take it]. And i must admit i left that theater a tad disappointed.
If you count out Jud, Zelda, Cage, Pascow's make-up and, of course, the brightest star that was Church, i found the approach to the story lacking compared to the book, plus i didn't care so much for Dale Midkiff's delivery as Louis, which pretty much ruined the atmosphere of guilt and grief you mentioned for me at times.
Still, out of my love and admiration for both King's story and Mary Lambert, i've watched it over a dozen times since – and with each re-watch the nostalgia factor rises and the flaws disappear. So there was no way i would give the new version a try, since that "product" flavor you tasted watching it was the exact same taste i was left with after watching the trailer and seeing the promo pictures. Flawed as it may be, the original never quite felt like a product even though it sure was! I mean it was based on a huge best seller, the Ramones wrote a song for it, hell, it even featured King himself -which both fascinated and appalled me at the same time XD
It did have soul though and I believe that's why it gained so much popularity with time instead of getting lost in the mists of it. You could say it's not fair to be so judgemental in reference to a movie i haven't seen, still that trailer and the otherwise pretty cute kitties made up to look like zombie cats from Vogue hell were screaming to me "stay away!!!"
PS: After our seventeen year old kittie passed away, both my better half and i could still hear the crunchy sounds he made when eating his treats almost every night for a couple of months. Hang in there <3
hannitron,
Sorry to hear about your kitty. It's rough. Things have gotten better here but then I logged onto FB yesterday and of course they hit me with a "Here's a memory from 5 years ago" image of Figgy. killed me.
If you love the book, this new version strays even further from it so maybe do avoid!
The new movie has at least renewed my love for the Lambert version though! Last night we checked out UNEARTHED AND UNTOLD: THE PATH TO PET SEMINARY a doc on the making of the film that's Free with Amazon Prime. It's pretty great with tons of fascinating info and all the cast and crew interviewed. And it really underlined how great Lambert was at representing the setting, town and locals. King insisted the film be made in Maine and I think that Lambert did a wonderful job presenting that King New England atmosphere (the new version not so much). So many great tidbits of info too! It turns out that that they made sure that there was a grave in the movie with the name "Shucky" on it to honor KIng's daughter's cat who was the inspiration for the book and I had no idea that there really was a pet cemetery (with a misspelled sign) as well. Pretty cool to see the original sign! We plan to watch Lambert's take again this weekend. Thanks for your comment!