5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Louis Creed, his wife Rachel and their two children Gage and Ellie move to a rural home where they are welcomed and enlightened about the eerie 'Pet Sematary' located near their home. After the tragedy of their cat being killed by a truck, they resort to burying it in the mysterious pet sematary which is definitely not as it seems as it proves to the Creeds that a pet isn't just for life..
Starring: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jeté Laurence, Hugo LavoieHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 41% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: España y Latinoamérica, Portuguese Brazil
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Stephen King will tell anyone who asks that, of all his works, he finds Pet Sematary the most difficult and frightening of all his novels, the
one that he believes pushed to far. That's a striking, stand-out thought from the man hailed as one of the great writers of human horror in literature
history.
Pet Sematary was shot on digital and comes to Blu-ray with a well-rounded, though not visually memorable or distinct, 1080p transfer. Low light interiors are very noisy and there are a few soft, hazy shots, such as in the 27-minute mark after Jud and Louis find Church dead on the side of the road. The image is otherwise in fine shape, featuring quality detailing and color throughout. Overall, it's a very capable image, failing to reach spectacle due to a fairly flat source, but core clothing and skin textures, natural woods, home accents, and the like are very sharp. Church's messy post-death hair maintains strong essential detailing, while some of the most impressively complex shots are close-ups of Jud, showing age spots and his nicotine-stained facial hair with impressive complexity. Colors enjoy good natural contrast, whether under bright sunny skies or under the shrouded, hazy darkness beyond the deadfall. The image offers everything from vibrant greens to dead grays and blacks with equal accuracy. Skin tones appear spot-on, blood is a brilliant red (with special note of Victor's face) and black levels are firm and steady. This is a quality all-around image from Paramount.
Pet Sematary's Dolby Atmos soundtrack spans the range from quiet to intense. The track's first example of heavy weight comes as the family arrives at its new home and an Orinco truck greets them by powering across the stage from left to right with quick speed and rumbly intensity. The pet funeral procession enjoys solid depth to each bang on the drum, and several other deep and horrific sounds find similar low end push, full stage usage, and excellent clarity. The track folds in some impressive woodland atmospherics, amplified to be sure at times, particularly at night when Louis and Jud cross the deadfall to bury Church and, later, the former another. The overhead channels offer both general support and some discrete effects in chapter seven when Rachel hears noises above, fearing again her childhood trauma from her time with her malformed sister Zelda. Music enjoys good stage presence and clarity. Dialogue is well prioritized and detailed from a natural front-center location.
This Blu-ray release of Pet Sematary includes an alternate ending, deleted and extended scenes, and three featurettes. A DVD copy of the film
and a digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.
2019's Pet Sematary is not a faithful recreation of the original King novel, and neither is it a particularly effective movie. It's adequate if it's anything, more alluring for witnessing whatever changes -- some big, some little -- have been made to the now-familiar tale rather than experiencing a deep-seeded story of inward sorrow and outward suffering. When I recently read the book -- after reviewing the 1989 film version's latest releases and before seeing this one -- there were times when I didn't want to turn the page, knowing what was coming and considering King's penchant for painting a horrible picture of physical and emotional brokenness. The book is superb, highly effective, and greatly affecting, the 1989 film is a very good recreation, and this one is merely there, in a way like some of the characters from the story, lingering about like a resurrected thing, a shell of itself, familiar yet somehow not at all whole. Paramount's Blu-ray is fine, however, featuring quality 1080p video, a strong Atmos soundtrack, and a handful of extras. Worth a look.
30th Anniversary Edition
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