In the previous blog post, I talked about the 1989 film adapted from the novel Pet Sematary by Stephen King. Recently, (meaning in the last few weeks) there has been a remake and reimagining that was released to theatres under the same name.
However, in this adaptation, the director’s made huge changes that caused some fans to scratch their head; myself included. When I first heard that they were remaking this movie, I was so excited because the first adaption, while enjoyable, has become boring when compared to the horror movie standards of today.
When I watched the first trailer I was excited by the sleekness of the movie and the better acting that was already on display. The colors and cinematography were also very impressive and I couldn’t wait for the movie to be released.
However, on further viewing and reading about the new movie I was shocked to find out that they had made a huge change from the original story. In this adaptation they not only aged Ellie up a few more years (from 6 to 9) they also switch her being killed by the truck instead of Gage like in the novel.
They show her being killed in the trailer, which seems like a bad idea because the only reason for the change would most likely be the shock from the people who know what is supposed to happen. Because of this strange marketing choice, I believed that this was just a stunt to try to get people to buy tickets. I was hoping they were going to do a double fake. Like fake that they were going to kill off Ellie, but actually, keep with the idea that Gage was the one to die.
I was disappointed to be proven wrong and they actually killed the older child instead of the younger one. Yes, it is still extremely hard to see a child killed on screen, but, Stephen King was always one to push the envelope. The actual purpose of his writing was to write about the most censored topics in his stories. Those being sex and death. Killing off a toddler is definitely a sorrow that can be felt deeply by everyone so for the director’s to make this change seems a tad rude to the other. I am to believe, however, that Stephen King was alright with this change.
Like the 1989 movie, they also leave out the idea of the Wendigo and keep with the idea that the ground is just bad because of magic instead of a being that rules the town.
Another change is that Ellie is the one to rebury her parents in the cemetery in order for them to become zombies as well. Instead of Louis being the only one to bury his family in the Micmac grounds. This adds another motivation to the monsters that come back from the dead. Are they trying to repopulate the Earth with beings like them? In the novel, the people who came back were just evil but did not have any ulterior motive behind them.
I still have not seen the movie all the way through, only a few reviews. People have said the movie is enjoyable, but because of the main change between Gage and Ellie’s deaths, I am apprehensive to watch.
I’m kind of surprised, but not completely shocked the plot got changed in the movie. It is very hard nowadays to find a movie adaptation of a novel that sticks to the plot. Additionally, the changes the directors decided on were very big. I would also be apprehensive to see the movie had I read the book. Regarding the age change, I agree with your thoughts. The directors must’ve forgotten they were shooting a horror film. At least, the acting was better in this attempt of the movie. After reading both the movie reviews, I would rather read the book. Great work!
Hey Madeline,
I find that often second makes of anything are not as good as the original. This is the case for most sequels I have watched and seems to definitely be the case for this movie. Yes, I understand that different time periods find different things scary, but keeping the plot of the original film is something that must be respected. Even remakes of video games are often very poor do to small changes to the game. I wish they could just keep it all consistent. Good post.
I usually don’t like when movie directors change the original lot to fit current needs, but I understand why they do this. Regardless, both versions seem intriguing, and my kind of movie. Maybe I’ll get a chance to see the newest version once the semester ends. If it’s good enough, I might even consider reading the book for fun. Great Post!