Buoyed by the smashing success of New Line’s It, not to mention the likes of Gerald’s Game and, er, The Dark Tower, Stephen King’s celebrated body of work is very much in vogue at the moment.
Case in point: directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer are about to bring us a remake of Pet Sematary, the cult horror title about a family feline that returns from beyond the grave. Mary Lambert first adapted King’s thriller for the big screen back in 1989, and now, almost three decades later, Kolsch and Widmyer are ready to deliver what they claim will be a “dark fucking movie.” And if you don’t believe them, all you need to do is feast your eyes on Pet Sematary‘s latest trailer, which we have for you up above.
The preview opens with Ellie Creed (Jeté Laurence) discovering that her family’s new home is close to “a charming little landmark,” to quote her mother (Amy Seimetz). From here, the footage transitions into a series of ominous shots of dark, misty woodlands and folky imagery that wouldn’t have looked out of place in The Wicker Man. As was to be expected, dark rituals are performed and the dead start rising, but amidst all the ghoulish figures that haunt the Creed family, perhaps the creepiest performance comes courtesy of Jason Clarke, who plays Ellie’s distraught father Louis.
For those who’ve read the book or seen the original film, the trailer may pack one or two somewhat spoiler-y surprises. Indeed, Kolsch and Widmyer may be resurrecting an old story here, but as the tagline goes, “they don’t come back the same,” and you can judge yourself if the fresh take pays off when Pet Sematary hits theaters on April 5th, 2019.