Now that horror has entered an artful, socially conscious phase with Jordan Peele's "Us" and other boundary-pushing films, is there still room for an old-fashioned chiller with undead creatures, terrified women and buckets of blood?
"Pet Sematary" suggests there is. An adaptation of Stephen King's 1983 novel, "Pet Sematary" works as both an update to the schlocky 1989 film and a throwback to the creepy horror-classics of old. The themes here are classic, too: decay, death and the unknown realm that lies beyond our own.
"Pet Sematary" is quintessential King, a campfire ghost-story about a doctor, Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who leaves big-city Boston to live in rural Maine. In short order, we meet the principal players: His wife, Rachel Creed (Amy Seimetz) and their children, 9-year-old Ellie (a very good Jete Laurence) and toddler Gage. Their neighbor, Jud Crandall, is a gruff but kindly old feller who knows everything about the area, even the local legends. John Lithgow makes a worthy replacement for the great Fred Gwynne in the role.
