Film Preview: Pet Sematary (2019)

Page Revisions:

(October 14, 2018) Original
(February 17, 2019) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#3-#5)
(March 31, 2019) New Posters (#6-#8)
(April 7, 2019) New Trailer (#3)

Release Date:

April 5, 2019

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Louis Creed, his wife Rachel and their two children Gage and Ellie move to a rural home where they are welcomed and enlightened about the eerie ‘Pet Sematary’ located near their home. After the tragedy of their cat being killed by a truck, Louis resorts to burying it in the mysterious pet cemetery, which is definitely not as it seems, as it proves to the Creeds that sometimes, dead is better.”

Poster Rating: C- / C+ / B- / C / C+ / C+ (2) / C

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Review: (#1) Sometimes dead is better might be a suitable tagline for this poster design as well. While it’s clear the concept the creator was going for, it’s carried off poorly, dully colored, and lacking in direct appeal. (#2) Designing the poster to look like the cover of a book, especially a Stephen King novel (on which this is based), is a fine choice, though the backdrop is a bit dreary both in a positive and negative way.

(#3) The white background is a problem, but the structure and layering works quite well for this poster design. (#4) This just doesn’t look like the kind of design that instills fear or curiosity or excitement just dull banality. (#5) A little less banal, but also a bit too much like the designs that are used for The Conjuring and other paranormal horror films.

(#6-#7) This pair of posters is a bit creepy, using the masked children as an inspiration for terror. (#8) Red, white, and black. The go-to colors of action films and horror films. They shouldn’t be and this poster is an example of why they should be jettisoned.

Trailer Rating: B- / C / C+

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Review: (#1) The original adaptation of the novel was frightening and involving even if a tad scholocky. This trailer suggests that a lot of what made the original terrifying isn’t as evident here. Leaving out the key plot premise doesn’t aid the viewer in forming an attachment to the events, the characters, or the film itself.

(#2) The first film was a very strong one, one of the best of that period of Stephen King adaptations. However, this attempt to revitalize another of King’s works feels a bit more hollow. It tries for the sensational and even manages to give away one of the most hair-raising sequences in the original film. That lack of respect combined with the film’s genuine lack of eerie sensationalism makes the whole thing look a bit flat.

(#3) If you weren’t sold by either of the previous trailer, this one won’t do it as it’s a slight step up from the previous, but that doesn’t mean it’s that good. Conventional jump scares and a narrative that’s muddy and feels somewhat boring is what’s left behind.