We all know the stature of Stephen King when it comes to horror. There have been many adaptations of his books and if done well, they’ve been huge box office successes. The It franchise along with Doctor Sleep and The Shining are glowing examples of it. As Halloween nears, there is a new Stephen King adaptation on the horizon – Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. The film is inspired by Stephen King’s 1983 novel Pet Sematary. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and adapted into two films: one in 1989 and another in 2019. The upcoming film will act as a prequel to the 2019 adaptation, however, it will an original story about young Jud Crandall as he discovers the dark family history that will forever tie him to his hometown of Ludlow, Maine. The film was hyped because of Stephen King’s glowing review for it. So, does it live up to the praise from the horror veteran? The critics think not.
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Reviews Round-Up: Disaster At Hand!
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines has currently holds a “Rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes of 17% from 35 reviews. This score is even lower than The Exorcist: Believer. The Halloween season has truly began in a disappointing fashion. Read the critics’ reviews below:
Nadine Whitney (AWFJ.org) – “There is the requisite amount of gore and some well-timed jump scares, but the film is lacking an emotional through-line. Sometimes dead is better for a franchise.”
Robert Kojder (Flickering Myth) – “Sometimes, sending your movie to streaming instead of embarrassing yourself in theaters is better.” Original Score: 1.5/5
DarkSkyLady (DarkSkyLady Reviews) – “Pet Semetary: Bloodlines has occasional frights but little else worth its inclusion in that world.”
Elliott Collins (Movie Files) – “Sometimes dead is better! I found a lot of the dialogue to be flat an extremely repetitive. The performance and acting in general was blend and generic and the scares were very minimal and not creative at all.” Original Score: 1.5/5
Belen Edwards (Mashable) – “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines feels like something that died, was buried, and then resurrected worse off than before.”
Benjamin Lee (Guardian) – “A prequel wanted by few and needed by none.” Original Score: 2/5
Randy Myers (San Jose Mercury News) – “Bloodlines’ most criminal offense is squandering the talents of David Duchovny.” Original Score: 1.5/4
Bob Strauss (San Francisco Chronicle) – “Cool as the concept of a magic graveyard that brings beloved pets and, later, not so lovely people back from the dead may be, this remains second-rate King movie material.”
Meagan Navarro (Bloody Disgusting) – “It’s a prequel that doesn’t care for tidy canon; the aim is to use these familiar characters and the setting to induce scares. It’s not helped by editing that feels like much of this choppy story was left on the editing room floor.” Original Score: 2.5/5
Michael Nordine (Variety) – ““Who asked for this?” is the question such projects invoke, and Lindsey Anderson Beer’s film never comes up with a satisfying answer.”
The film is directed by Lindsey Anderson Beer and stars David Duchovny, Jackson White, Samantha Mathis, Henry Thomas, and Pam Grier.
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines will debut on Paramount Plus on October 6th, 2023.
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