The new Pet Sematary trailer hints at the horrors to come in the Stephen King adaptation. King was actually hesitant to publish his original book, which was inspired by his family’s experiences living near a real-life pet cemetery. He felt it was too bleak and only submitted it to fulfill a contractual agreement with his publisher. The novel became a hit shortly after its release in 1983 and is now considered one of the author’s most terrifying stories of all time. King has gone on to claim that, of all the books he’s written, it’s the one that truly scared him the most.

Pet Sematary was previously adapted as a film directed by Mary Lambert in 1989. The movie was a box office success and has since become a cult classic among many horror fans. Lambert also returned to direct a sequel in 1992, titled Pet Sematary Two. However, her original concept for the project (which revolved around a returning character from the original Pet Sematary) was rejected, and the sequel went on to bomb at the box office. The property lay dormant for several years after, until plans for a remake were announced in 2010.

After years of being stuck in development, the Pet Sematary re-adaptation started moving forward in late 2017, with Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes) directing from a script by Jeff Buhler (The Midnight Meat Train). Paramount unveiled the first Pet Sematary trailer back in October and has since released a new promo online, ahead of the film’s premiere at SXSW next month. Jason Clarke stars in this version as Louis Creed, a doctor who moves to rural Maine with his family for a new job and discovers that their home is located near a mysterious burial ground with the power to resurrect the dead.

As this trailer reveals, the new Pet Sematary makes a big change from King’s book - namely, which of the Creed children is killed and brought back to life, via the haunted “Pet Sematary”. The film’s directors and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura explained their reasoning during an interview with EW, where they cited factors like the character’s age and their desire to change things up from Lambert’s adaptation. As they point out in the interview, the plot twist also builds on the relationship that Louis’ daughter, Ellie (Jeté Laurence), develops with the family’s kindly old neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), early on in the film.

Of course, it remains to be seen how well this change goes over. Fans of Lambert’s film have been hesitant to embrace this new interpretation, and the revelations in the second trailer may only further push away those who prefer the more faithful 1989 adaptation. Others, however, may become all the more excited to see this version, knowing that it won’t play out exactly the same as the 1989 movie and King’s novel. Either way, Pet Sematary is definitely a film that horror fans will be keeping a close eye on.

MORE: Everything You Need to Know About Pet Sematary (2019)

Source: Paramount Pictures

  • Pet Sematary Release Date: 2019-04-05