Pet Sematary Review: 4 Ups & 4 Downs

Stephen King's Pet Sematary has risen from the dead once more, but just like it's on-screen counterpart, it hasn't come back the same. The old campy movie and chilling source novel have been rehashed without that sense of specialty that made them unique the first time around - instead leaving us with a campfire story we've heard plenty of times before.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, we follow Dr Louis Creed and his wife Rachel as they decide to move from the bustling city of Boston into rural Maine, thinking life will slow down and they can spend more time with their children. But when the countryside escape reveals itself to have a sinister secret hiding in their backyard in the form of a gruesome pet cemetery, they realise the land isn't the fresh start they'd hoped. Tragedy strikes, and the desperate father is lead down a path in the woods that would be best left forgotten.

To be honest though, that description means nothing if you've seen the trailer since all the story is in there anyway. This isn't the next great King adaptation of our time even though it has its merits, and whilst the franchise has been dragged from its resting place, sometimes- dead really is better.

Absolutely the biggest failure of this movie lies in its marketing. Anything that had potential to give you chills, right down to the movie's biggest and most intense climactic moment, has been stripped of authenticity by the decision to sell the film on its big hitters. For those of you that haven't seen anything in the run up to this feature, you'll be in for far more of a treat than those that have diligently kept up with the movie's derailed hype train - as the third act is all but shown in its entirety before you even get your arse in a cinema seat.

Whilst some could argue that we already know this story from its original 1989 release, the film absolutely blows its load for any casual fans by showing the damn dead person walking around looking all creepy as if that wasn't where the whole narrative builds to. And yes, this was a different character 30 years ago, so they also ruin their 'same but different' strategy, where they do the ol' bait and switch throughout the film's most iconic moments.

There are no stakes to this film if you've been anywhere near its campaign, which is the sad truth of the situation.