Simetierre: Aux Origines du Mal

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines managed to impress me, despite its lacklustre reception among the general public and its direct-to-tv or streaming release.

Make no mistake however, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines maintains an honest Stephen King vibe reminiscent of 80s-90s classics like "Stand by Me," "IT," or even a slight ambiance of the original Pet Sematary.

Adapting a story with established foundations is always a challenge, requiring a delicate balance of relevance, novelty, and faithfulness to the source material. In this regard, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines hits the mark rather admirably.

While not a masterpiece, the film deserves recognition for several reasons. The cinematography feels both vintage and fresh. Additionally, the cast includes well-known but somewhat forgotten actors like David Duchovny (X-Files, Californication) and Henry Thomas, (E. T, Legends of the Fall) evoking a sense of nostalgia reminiscent of films from that era.

The acting is solid overall, with Natalie Alyn Lind impressing me immensely and Jackson White delivering commendable performances. Although White's portrayal didn't captivate me as much, he still stood out as unique and likable character.

However, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines does fall short in some key areas. The kills are relatively tame, the suspense feels subdued, and the characters, while possessing personality, lack significant depth. Additionally, the ending feels rushed and somewhat cheap, detracting some chemistry and memorability from the overall viewing experience.

Despite these flaws, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines exceeded my expectations. While it may not offer many surprises due to its familiar story and lack of surprises, it still holds up as a solid stand-alone film. Surprisingly, I wouldn't hesitate to re-watch the film, as it provided me with a thoroughly entertaining experience.

6/10.

Plot

In 1969 a young Jud Crandall and his childhood friends band together to confront an ancient evil that has gripped their hometown of Ludlow.

Cast

Mostly mediocre, we do however get Henry "ET" Thomas, David Duchovny, Samantha Mathis (Who is used so little she may as well not be there), Pam Grier and Natalie Alyn Lind who keeps popping up in everything I watch and she's always a joy to watch.

Verdict

Bloodlines tells the story that Jud Crandall told in the original Pet Semetary, so you already know how it ends. Not sure it's a tale that needed putting to screen but they make the most of it.

Though loaded with veterans most of the younger cast are really quite poor, combine that with very bland writing and it makes for a very underwhelming watch!

Pet Semetary hasn't exactly been the best series, sure the original was amazing but with a forgettable sequel and an awful remake I wasn't exactly excited to see this pop up. However I'll give it this, it's better than the trailer makes it out to be.

It's a middle of the road movie with enough going for it to keep you drowning in its glaring flaws.

Rants

Now we've seen Jud's story sadly it makes his likelihood to show someone the semetary even less likely. Why would he do it? What motivation would he have being that he lived through these horrors and ultimately as per the original movie caused his ultimately demise.

Breakdown

Solid veteran cast Natalie Alyn Lind is great Just about enough King charm Mostly poor young cast You know what's going to happen Rather bland in places.

I approached this movie with some trepidation. Being a life long Stephen King fan, his movies had suffered badly from appalling, cash in sequels. A Return To Salem's Lot is a classic example.

But taken on it's own merits, I actually enjoyed this. It was generally well acted, the story was interesting, if not original. I disagree that the characters were unlikeable, I found my self really rooting for the people. I liked the pace that the story unfolded, revealing the history and background in satisfying doses. Also, it did not focus on the "Semetary" too much. Although building on the Pet Sematary mythos, it does stand as separate to the main franchise. SO if you view it with this in mind, I think you will enjoy.

Great cast, I just wish Samantha Mathis had more of a role. A few good, creepy moments. Unfortunately, by the third act of the movie, some of the scenes/scenarios became completely absurd. There were the typical tropes of people doing incredibly stupid things-but it's a horror movie, so that's expected. Yelling at the TV doesn't help. I tried. The idiots died anyway. I found myself rolling my eyes more than anything else. The undead could seemingly teleport and do superman type of stuff. Sometimes people say a movie might have been better had they edited out 20-30 minutes. Not this movie. This was very tightly edited and could have used a bit more exposition. Just being familiar with the Pet Sematary story helped fill-in some of the blanks. Really wanted to like this. Given the caliber of the cast, I think a lot of people were rooting for this movie. Glad I saw it, just wouldn't watch it again.

This film is just bad. Pretty much in every way. They must have either ran out of budget or had to cut run time because this movie is utter nonsense. I kind of, maybe get what they were trying to do, but it's so poorly crafted and executed it's not worth watching.

Here are things that suck:

1. The plot doesn't make sense and really has nothing to do with the original Pet Sematery.

2. There's no one to root for and no one to care about. Live or die, I literally do not care what happens to any characters.

3. There's no point and the core premise is so confusing I really don't know why this was made.

4. The final act they just gave up. I don't know why characters are doing what they're doing. Nor do I care.

Bad filmmaking 101 - 2.2/10.