'Pet Sematary Bloodlines' Delves Into Ludlow's Dark History With A Heaping Helping Of Body Horror
Pet Sematary Bloodlines, directed by Lindsey Anderson Beer, is the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s hit, Pet Sematary. It tells the origin story of the town Ludlow, Maine, as well as beloved local Jud Crandall, portrayed by John Lithgow in the 2019 film. Thanks to a special premiere at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, I got to watch the movie with the director herself, after a lovely introduction, during which she thanked the crew, as well as the actors who could not be there because of the strike.
The red and black aesthetic of the event prepared you for what a dark screening it was about to be, as well as the little replicas of the infamous pet sematary next to a photo op featuring the Ludlow, Maine sign. There were drinks, desserts, candies, and a branded bag of popcorn, and everyone was treated to a Pet Sematary Bloodlines tote bag to carry all the loot. Wags & Walks (where I adopted my dog Daisy) was on hand with a few adoptable dogs that you could love on (and hopefully take home), because what's a pet cemetery without any few pets? Proceeds from the event went to the dog rescue.
Before the movie started we were all witness to an “Echoes of the Unearthed” Procession, featuring animal masks, drums, and lots of sunflowers. The eerie processional - during which I was given a sunflower - mimicked the one children can be seen doing in all of the Pet Sematary movies, and created the perfect ambiance in which to view the new film.
A featurette shared before the movie warned this would be the scariest Pet Sematary film yet, in no small part due to the inclusion of one of the most fearsome chapters in the book, the one about Timmy Baterman (played by Jack Mulhern). In this iteration, Timmy was the childhood best friend of Jud (Jackson White) and Manny (Forrest Goodluck), before getting drafted into World War II pulled him away forever. Jud’s beloved Norma is played by Natalie Alyn Lind, the older sister of Chucky’s Alyvia Alyn Lind. She makes one hell of a scream queen.
Mulhern is fantastically creepy as Timmy, and the noises the reanimated character makes are so unsettling they’ll make your skin crawl. Goodluck’s Manny is the comic relief, which is needed in this gory, jump scare-filled prequel. Not unlike in the story of It, Jud has to take on the gargantuan task of banding together with his friends to try to fight the ancient evil that has made Ludlow such a frightful town, and, you know, save everyone.
White gives a sexy take on Jud, with his abs, romance, and the common teenage idea that if you are young, you are untouchable. You learn about Jud's father (played by Henry Thomas), and that Ludlow has long been a cursed place precariously held together by little more than secrecy and the honor system. It's really interesting to learn more about the beloved character, though it does make me wonder how Jud would ever tell Louis Creed about the dark power of the cemetery.
Every Pet Sematary is twisted, but Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is on another level. Death is different in Ludlow, and those buried in the sour ground return not only as mere shells of who they were, but as something else. The uncanny valley nature makes it hard to even look at those who return for too long, and to make matters worse, these walking corpses harbor all of the dirty secrets of everyone in Ludlow. They come back needlessly cruel, and visibly decaying. Prepare yourself for some gross body horror. While there could be humor found in children playing evil, this Pet Sematary takes a more unrelenting approach when it comes to scaring the audience.
Whether you liked the original adaptation from 1989 or the 2019 remake, fans of Pet Sematary will enjoy going back to Ludlow, and learning even more about the cursed and powerful ground. As far as being the scariest, Pet Sematary Bloodlines definitely delivers on jump scares and gore. The 2019 Pet Sematary has more of a gut punch ending, but they would make for an entertaining and dark double feature.
The Paramount+ original movie Pet Sematary: Bloodlines begins streaming October 6, 2023, and it’s the perfect film to add to your Halloween marathon. Once it debuts, you can watch the latest Pet Sematary, followed by the 2019 reboot - that way you can see the beginning and end of Judson Crandle.
