Pet Sematary reviews: What do critics say about Stephen King horror movie adaptation

Pet Sematary follows the story of Dr Louis Creed and his wife Rachel who relocate with their two young children from Boston to rural Maine. The family discover a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbour Jud Crandall, setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.

What do critics have to say about Pet Sematary?

With the film only released yesterday, reviews are still few in number and the Stephen King adaptation has no Rotten Tomatoes score as of yet, nor critics’ consensus.

But the reviews which have been published were mostly positive.

There are plenty of Twitter reactions from horror fans and journalists alike, too.

Peter Debruge for Variety:

“Kölsch and Widmyer do a decent job of creating atmosphere, especially in a handful of dreams that position the audience for hallucinatory jump scares, and they intensify the frequent flashbacks Rachel experiences of her late sister’s last days, but there’s the distinct feeling that they’re not doing nearly enough to distinguish this version from the one that came before.”

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Britt Hayes for IndieWire:

“Directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer have collaborated on a new adaptation of King’s novel that succeeds in some areas where the 1989 version failed while ultimately failing to deliver an ending that resonates as deeply as its source material…

Unfortunately, many of these headier ideas are lost in the film’s final moments, as Pet Sematary spirals into the realm of the cartoonish with an ending that feels more like a punchline than a gut punch.”

John DeFore for the Hollywood Reporter:

“The rest of the film is strongest when it lets its very fine cast explore the difficulties their characters already have along with the ones they’re hiding from each other.

“Unfortunately but not fatally, the film soon makes this reanimated loved one more monstrous than unsettling, possessed of unlikely strength and a little too similar to the growling monster-people found in garden-variety horror films.

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“A more eerie approach would have been welcome, and more in keeping with what Church has taught us to expect from those who come back from the hilltop.

“That said, the movie’s final scene captures the ambiguous creepiness of the novel’s end while totally reinventing its content.”

Kim Newman for Empire:

“In the book, with 300 pages of motivation, you can just about swallow the plot.

“But in the film this is impossible and you have to sit impatiently through scene after silly scene before the zombie attacks start.

“Pet Sematary has ambitions to be more than just another zombie flick, but it finally comes over as being more like a precis of its source novel than a proper adaptation of it.”

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Perri Nemiroff for Collider:

“Pet Sematary evokes the feeling that Widmyer and Kölsch knew exactly what they wanted to achieve with this adaptation and fully committed with confidence.

“I applaud them for the vision and dedication, and I also applaud the studio for letting them just go for it.

“Again, Pet Sematary isn’t striving to be an easy communal crowdpleaser.

“Just like the source material, it’s a movie with a real thoughtful mean streak that’ll chill you to the bone, and ensure you remain sufficiently on edge well after it concludes.”

Pet Sematary is out in cinemas on April 4, 2019.