‘Pet Sematary’ Trailer: Sometimes Dead Is Better In This New Stephen King Adaptation

For a writer as prolific and varied as Stephen King, it makes sense that not all of his works would be at the same standard of quality as the best of his bibliography, and the same goes for film adaptations of his work. For every “Shawshank Redemption,” “Carrie,” and “The Shining,” you’ll get “Cujo,” “The Mist,” and “Dreamcatcher.” But, in the past few years, film and television adaptations of King’s stories have been of generally consistent quality (barring last year’s maligned “The Dark Tower”), from “It” to “Gerald’s Game” to Hulu’s “Castle Rock.” Now, a new “Pet Sematary,” adapting King’s novel and remaking the 1989 film, enters the fray.

Unlike the other recent or in production adaptations, “Pet Sematary” has no big names behind the scenes, with two relatively unknown directors, Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, at the helm. But, as star Jason Clarke remarked in a recent interview with EW, fans of the book can rest easy that the film will retain its classic atmosphere. He said, “I found it insanely disturbing. [King] reaches inside you in some way, he always does. There is great intellect and great subconscious and subtext and thought and reason behind it.” Time will tell if the film will hold up as well as the book has, but if the early photos and the directors’ comments are any indications, “Pet Sematary” might prove to be as successful as last year’s “It.”

Alongside Clarke, who takes on the role of Louis Creed, is John Lithgow as Jud Crandall and Amy Seimetz as Rachel Creed, with Jeté Laurence playing Ellie Creed and twins Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie as Gage Creed, who gets resurrected as a demon after being killed.

“Pet Sematary” rises from the grave and comes to theaters April 5, 2019 via Paramount Pictures. You can watch the new trailer below: