Pet Sematary (2019) 4K Blu-Ray Review

Pet Sematary (2019) 4K Blu-Ray Review

Story

    After the Creed family relocates from Boston to rural Maine, they soon discover an ancient burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home. When tragedy strikes, the grief-stricken father is driven by the cemetery’s sinister power, setting off a perilous chain of events that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.  Some secrets are best left buried in this twisted thriller.

Review

     As soon as I saw they were remaking Pet Sematary I got really excited. I know a lot of die hard horror fans are not pleased with the amount of remakes that are coming down the pipeline because they fear that it will ruin the originals. I feel differently about this, hey if the new iteration isn't my cup of tea I can always go back and watch the original and still enjoy it all the same. If the new iteration is my cup of tea, now I have two films that I enjoy. This new Pet Sematary falls into the latter category.

This new version does change quite a few things from the original and some of those decisions work mostly because it changes the plot around in a way that feels refreshing. I don't like spoiling these things for people but in this instance if you've watched the trailer then you know what I am talking about. If you haven't watched the trailer and are reading this then I urge you that you do not watch the trailer and go into this with an open mind.

One thing I did enjoy about this movie was the cinematography and the overall palette of this movie. It just gave me that vibe I'm usually looking for when I pop a horror movie in and want to feel unsettled sitting on my couch. The book itself was extremely dark and this movie is no different. What I would have liked is that the horror presented was a bit more cerebral, this is a very basic story so I would have liked it for it to be a bit more elevated. However I admire the look of this film and that enough kept me intrigued even if I knew where we were headed at the end of the day.

Performances were solid all around and I even found myself enjoying John Lithgow's Jud, of course it didn't have the charm and over the top style that only Fred Gwynne could bring but it was a solid effort. Jason Clarke plays a devastated father and honestly I enjoy most of Jason Clarke's performances and this one was no different, but going back to the writing, I wish he was giving a bit more to chew on. That actually goes for the majority of the cast.

   

Video

Pet Sematary is presented in 4K Ultra HD  in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio and had a sublime image on my television. I was definitely able to take note of plenty of different textures from mangled cat fur to blood stained shirts. The majority of the meat of this film takes place in the dark and thankfully the blacks looked great and I attribute that to the HDR. The colors were all adequate and I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation.

Audio

The English Dolby Atmos track here was satisfying. All the dialogue was clear which is usually what I nitpick when I'm watching a movie for the first time at home. The environments all felt very real and were definitely enhanced because of the audio. The nighttime forest scenes felt authentic with all the sounds you could expect to hear in that setting. 

Extras

·         Alternate Ending

·         Deleted and Extended Scenes

·         Night Terrors – Family Haunting Visions

·         The Tale of Timmy Baterman

·         Beyond the Deadfall

o   Chapter One: Resurrection – Directors, screenwriters and cast discuss bringing this classic back to life

o   Chapter Two: The Final Resting Place—A deeper look into finding the right location for the terror to unfold

o   Chapter Three: The Road to Sorrow— Inside the film’s tragic themes and creating the iconic cat “Church”

o   Chapter Four: Death Comes home—Unearth the creepy elements behind the climax and final scenes of the film

Language

• English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, and English Audio Description English, English SDH, Spanish, French

Subtitles

• English, English SDH, Spanish, French

Final Thoughts

Pet Sematary has a few twists and turns that made this feel different than the original but I would have liked if the story was more layered. Overall as far as horror movies go, this is a solid entry in a genre that suffers from more misses than hits.

Pet Sematary is available on Digital, 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on now from Paramount!