Stephen King’s stories have been trending quite a bit lately in the horror movie realm, and we aren’t mad about it. Pet Sematary is the newest installment to get the ol’ re-imagining juices flowing. Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes) are slated to direct, with veteran actors John Lithgow portraying Jud Crandall and Jason Clarke attached to play Louis Creed.

Entertainment Weekly released an in-depth editorial about the upcoming film, along with a handful of “first look” images.

Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two children Gage (Hugo Lavoie) and Ellie (Jeté Laurence) move to a rural home where they are welcomed by neighbors and advised about the nearby ‘Pet Sematary’.

After their cat is tragically killed by a truck, Louis resorts to burying it in the mysterious pet cemetery, which is definitely not as it seems. The Creeds quickly learn that sometimes, dead is better.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura discussed their new interest in the story; “One of the things about doing a new version now is our understanding of life and death has progressed,” he said. “But are we more sophisticated about it or less?”

Bonaventura also spoke on Pet Sematary‘s deeply human themes and how we can easily connect with the challenges they present; “One of the most interesting themes in the book, the original movie, and this one is, ‘How far would you go to see someone again?’” he says. “But another thing we’re exploring is how you can’t run from the things that scare you.”

The memorable role of Zelda, Rachel’s terrifying sister, will be portrayed by the young and talented Alyssa Brooke Levine. While there haven’t been any images of Zelda released yet, we can only assume that the on-screen portrayal of her gruesome disfigurement – caused by spinal meningitis – will be something that haunts us for quite some time.

“It’s more accurate to the book, I’ll just say that,” director Dennis Widmyer reveals. “In the original movie, it’s a 21-year-old guy in drag playing it, and in the book, as you recall, it’s a 10-year-old girl.”

Actress Amy Seimetz revealed Rachel’s motivations and discomfort with the topic of death; “Rachel went through something extremely traumatic when she was younger with her sister, and she freezes up when death is talked about,” she said. “She doesn’t want to face it and doesn’t want her daughter to go through the same thing.”

So far, it appears that the filmmakers are attempting to stay as true to the book as possible, and we can’t wait see what becomes of Jud and Louis.

Horror fans and constant readers can anticipate a theatrical release on April 5th, 2019.

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