Stephen King’s ‘Pet Sematary’ Releases New Look

One of the most anticipated horror movies of 2019 is a new adaptation of Stephen King‘s Pet Sematary, which lands in theaters on April 5th. You can check out an all-new photo from the film, depicting John Lithgow‘s Jud Crandall, below.

Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.

The story was previously adapted into a film in 1989 which, while it still has effective sequences, isn’t quite as successful a film now as it was 30 years ago. In 2017, a new adaptation of IT landed in theaters, having previously earned a miniseries in 1990, which went on to take in more than $700 million worldwide. Clearly adapting the right King story, even if it has been adapted before, can prove a successful endeavor for a studio.

“Pet Sematary is a story that shakes you to the core,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura shared with Fandango. “Following the tense and emotional plight of this family will take audiences on a suspenseful, thrilling ride that will keep them on the edge of their seat. It’s a haunting psychological horror story and watching horror is a communal experience — in a theatre, each audience member can sense the other’s terror, which heightens the experience.”

Like most successful adaptations of King’s stories, what makes the journey so effective isn’t just the otherworldly horrors, but also the emotional horrors, which mostly come from the grief of saying goodbye to a loved one in Pet Sematary.

“I’m a big fan of psychological horror and am excited for audiences to see our fresh take on Stephen King’s classic novel,” Di Bonaventura added. “Our directors, Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, have brought their passion for the source material along with their innovative vision to the script resulting in a powerful, dark, and terrifying modern reincarnation of Pet Sematary.”

Stay tuned for details on Pet Sematary, which lands in theaters on April 5, 2019.

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