Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Clarke), 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 (Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
CURRENT STATUS:
Post-Production
RELEASE DATE:
April 5, 2019 (Theaters)
CATEGORY:
STUDIO:
WRITER:
DIRECTOR:
MPAA:
N/A
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On the topic of the return of Zelda, co-director Dennis Widmyer had this to say in an interview:
"It’s more accurate to the book, I’ll just say that. In the original movie, it’s a 21-year-old guy in drag playing it, and in the book, as you recall, it’s a 10-year-old girl. You go, ‘How do you top Zelda? It was big and scary and awesome, but if you think about the reality of the Zelda situation, what that would do to a family, with her wasting away in this bedroom, and a younger sister being frightened of her older sister’s debilitating illness, that on its own is pretty scary. [We're hoping] the grounded nature of that horror would actually be scarier than a supernatural version of it. The nurse, the medical equipment, what that room would feel like as a layer of dust went on everything." (10/8/18)
Obssa Ahmed (
The Expanse) plays "Victor Pascow."
Ten-year-old Jeté Laurence plays
"Ellie, a sweet and sensitive young girl who adores her cat “Church” and wins over the heart of the old-timer who lives next door (played by John Lithgow)."
Three-year-old twins Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie plays
"Gage, her toddler little brother — who is prone to wandering into trouble."
John Lithgow plays the neighbor "Jud Crandall." This will mark their acting debut.
Jason Clarke (
Winchester) is in negotiations to play the lead. (4/16/18)
The studio has set directing duo Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (
Starry Eyes) to helm the film.
Not much of an update on the project other than a recent
interview with writer Jeff Buhler (
The Midnight Meat Train), who reveals that
"they are currently out to cast, and they are going for some bigger names, so it’s taking some time." (3/3/16)
Writer Jeff Buhler had a recent
interview where he talks about his script and potential take for the film, saying:
"The characters in this script make some tragic decisions, and the horror is about the ramifications of those decisions. There are still the supernatural aspects of the book, with the pet cemetery and the burial ground from which things come back from the dead, but the real horror is, ‘What do these things do to the family? What does it do to a person to see their child killed, but then to know that they can bring them back? How do you tussle with that idea? And if and when you make that choice, what does that do to you? Will that child be the same? How can life ever return to normal?"
He continued...
"This is pretty far from the 1980’s film, which I adore for certain things that are very intrinsic to that time period in terms of the genre, like a truck driver smoking a joint to a Ramones song. But when a little kid comes back with a scalpel and is like, ‘I want to play with you,’ it kind of becomes Chucky. With this one, we really wanted to get into the emotional aspects of it. There’s still plenty of visceral horror that’s explored, but I’ve always felt that if you lean more into the characters and into their emotional lives, when the visceral felgercarb hits the fan, it’s ten times more scary." (7/17/15)
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (
28 Weeks Later,
Intruders) was at one point in talks to direct.
Despite previous reports that the film is aiming for a PG-13 rating, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura says that's unlikely, though hasn't exactly ruled it out either. Writer Matt Greenberg is currently working on the script and is reportedly going to
"try some new things in the first couple drafts and see how it plays."
The latest scribe to tackle the script is Matthew Greenberg, who also adpated King's
1408 for the big screen.
Scripter David Kajganich (
Blood Creek,
Invasion) was quoted saying he turned in an early draft of the script during a time where the studio was going through a regime change, and a new executive wanted the project to appeal to a younger audience (for instance, we'd see a teenaged Ellie as the main character). David couldn't stand behind that idea, so got out of his contract and left the project.
Alphaville Films was originally set to produce.
Paramount Pictures, who put out the original film, are also putting this out.
At one point George Clooney was rumored to be considered as the lead.
Mike Werb and Michael Colleary (
Face/Off duo) were originally scripting this.
Although it was announced (and follows the spelling in the book and previous film) as
Pet Sematary, the correct spelling would be
Pet Cemetery.
Stephen King wrote the screenplay for the original film, but has involvement with this remake.
This project has been in development since the early start of the new century.
Based on the Stephen King story and a remake of the 1989 movie with the same name.
