Editor’s note: This story from author Jason Pellegrini was originally published on Playboy.com in 2020. For those in search of a good movie to watch during spooky month, it’s worth a reread.
“Sometimes, dead is better.” Throughout the 1980s and into the ’90s, this was something that horror fans of both literature and film knew all too well. But as the years have passed by, the infamous line has become lost on a younger generation. Now, in spring of 2019, when the latest film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1983 novel Pet Sematary hits theaters, it will be the a new audience’s turn to learn that sometimes dead is, in fact, better.
On Wednesday, the first trailer for Pet Sematary was unleashed, and we saw a glimpse at the fresh take of King’s terrifying novel, which was famously adapted by director Mary Lambert in 1989. Of course, with the release of the trailer came both the hype and the speculation. Can this new take live up to not only the book in which its story originated, but also hold a candle to its predecessor, which has become a beloved classic among horror-film enthusiasts?
It would take a great effort on the part of the writers and director of the upcoming adaptation to not leave viewers scared in their seats. The source material alone is enough to guarantee a terrified audience. Pet Sematary has infamously become the one book even King has admitted was too scary. As the legend goes, he had to tuck the manuscript away in his desk drawer while working on it because it had freaked even him out. In fact, Pet Sematary might not even have been published had the prolific author not owed Doubleday one last novel. If you can scare the master of horror, then you can scare anyone!
Horror has evolved a great deal over the last 30 years, especially in film. Since 1989’s version of Pet Sematary, which is one of the better adaptations of King’s work from that era, filmmakers have found new ways to scare audiences around the world. These methods, applied to what may already be the creepiest story ever told, provide a recipe for success, especially when you factor in that John Lithgow will portray Jud Crandall.Pet Sematary is certainly not the first adaptation of the author’s work in recent years, and it won’t be the last, given the recent resurgence that proves King is, well, still king. Even though, in the 2000s and early 2010s, we saw adaptations of such works as Under the Dome, 11/22/63 or 2012’s remake of Carrie, it was nothing at this current rate. It all seemingly started in 2017 with the release of The Dark Tower. Even though this telling of King’s epic was considered by most to be a huge letdown, it was quickly followed up by last fall’s release of the remake of It, which destroyed box-office records in the horror genre and renewed the public’s want for more King. In the wake of It, which will gets its own sequel in 2019, we have seen Gerald’s Game, 1922, Mr. Mercedes and The Mist in one form or another, plus the Hulu original series Castle Rock, set in the creepy King multiverse.
What Stephen King’s stories are about, once you strip away the supernatural, are the things that every single human experiences and feels in their own natural life.
So, why has an author who dominated the 1980s had a sudden resurgence, 30 years later? Stephen King has always been the kind of author whose work is ageless. His stories aren’t about the vampires, the rabid dogs, the young girl with telekinesis or the child with “the shine.” What they’re about, once you strip away the supernatural, are the things that every single human being experiences and feels in their own natural life. From the crippling grief of losing a child in Pet Sematary, to the hardships of growing up and growing apart from your friends in The Body (which became Stand by Me). From the constant war waged against addiction in The Shining, to the fear of what could happen if the wrong man got too much political power in The Dead Zone. These are elements that make Stephen King timeless. These are the reasons why a new group of people, a lifetime younger than the last, can sit down to a King movie and connect with the story. The supernatural elements are just a bonus that make an already-amazing story that much more fun.
The adaptation train doesn’t seem to be slowing down, either, with 34 (!) of his titles listed as in-development on IMDb. Regardless of whether those go into production, it is a true testament to King’s body of work that so many titles are even being discussed—just so long as (ahem) they don’t touch The Green Mile or Shawshank Redemption. So, yes … it may be true that, sometimes, dead is better. But in the case of Stephen King adaptations, alive and well is certainly preferred.