There are so many adaptations of Stephen King stories released at such regular intervals that the horror legend is by no means obligated to pass judgement on them all in a public forum, so giving the thumbs-up to Pet Sematary: Bloodlines was interpreted by many as a sign that the prequel to the remake of an adaptation would be on course to justify its existence.
Unfortunately, that didn’t prove to be the case, not among critics anyway. Ahead of its release this coming weekend, the supernatural origin story is carrying a Rotten Tomatoes score of only 21 percent, placing it firmly among the lower rungs of the titan of terror’s extensive back catalogue of page-to-screen translations.
In some cases, though, getting the thumbs up from the icon himself is worth more than a million negative reviews, something director Lindsey Anderson Beer was hugely appreciative of, as she revealed in an interview with ScreenRant.
“I have not had any direct communication with him. We have had check-ins at all kinds of key points, like he signed off on the shooting script, and gave us the thumbs up, and said he liked it. Obviously, I would not have wanted to shoot anything he didn’t like. But it’s always a journey from scripts to finished film, so it was just so rewarding to see that it resonates with him, and that he loves the movie as much as we do, it’s his baby. So I’m just glad that he feels we did right by it.”
As a Stephen King movie releasing in the buildup to Halloween, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is at least guaranteed a strong opening weekend, but based on the consensus, it’s in danger of instantly slipping into the ether of adaptations everybody forgets about in no time at all.