Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is a 2023 horror movie from Paramount+ directed by Lindsey Anderson Beer and co-written by Beer and Jeff Buhler. It draws from a long legacy of previous related content bearing the same name and is confusing viewers who are wondering if the new production is a prequel or a remake of the original.
To understand the nature of this particular franchise, you need to go all the way back to the 1980s and the novel Pet Sematary by legendary horror and thriller writer Stephen King.
The 1983 book was another success for King, who was hitting his stride after the success of novels Carrie, Salem’s Lot, and The Shining.
King was a powerhouse, churning out book after book, as well as a number of short stories, and it wasn’t long before the film industry realized that his novels would almost ensure a box office hit, and often the rights to the film would be sold before the book had even arrived on the shelves.
Pet Sematary was another King bestseller, following the story of Louis Creed and his wife and young son, moving to Maine and finding that the old house they live in sits on the side of a road that is in constant use by huge lumbering trucks, that travel far too fast.
When tragedy strikes, the family is torn apart, and despite all the warnings, Creed decides to use the supernatural graveyard hidden in the woods to try and fix the family’s heartbreak. It’s a cautionary tale, filled with dread and primal fears, that was always going to end badly.
The book would spawn a film version in 1989, then a sequel in 1992. The first film would stay pretty close to the source material and was a commercial success. The sequel, however, did not perform as well, using the concepts of the original but introducing a new cast.
Stephen King would ask for his name to be removed from the film, and the dust would settle until the 2019 version, which was pretty much a remake of the 1989 movie. With all that context behind us, let’s find out about Pet Sematary: Bloodlines – a prequel to the original or a remake?
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Plot Explained
With this film being set in 1969, it looks like the writers had the vision to expand the Pet Sematary universe by adding some back story to the 2019 version of the film. The 2023 film follows the story of a young Jud Crandall, played in the 2019 version by John Lithgow, discovering the terrifying secret of the titular cemetery.
Jud hopes to be able to leave his small town behind but is manacled to the sickened land by terrible secrets and ancient evil that has always haunted the town of Ludlow. Together with his friends, they must fight against the buried evil that could destroy the whole town.
Is Pet Sematary: Bloodlines a prequel or a remake?
The film is a prequel that fills out the character of Jud and explores the lore of Ludlow before the 2019 remake. The 2019 film and the sequel are not connected to the 1989 version, and it is safe to say that this is a prequel, not a remake.
Strangely, you do have to wonder why Jud, in the first film, would point Louis in the direction of the graveyard in the first place. It is made clear that he knows the dangers of meddling with this kind of magic, and yet he is still happy to explain to Louis the reanimating powers of the land.
The sequel does address the issue, though, and whether or not you accept the explanations will really be up to you.
Was a prequel necessary?
Well, it depends on how invested you are in this particular franchise. Story-wise, it does not really add that much to enhance the original narrative. We do get a lot of background, but really, this was nothing that demanded an explanation, and in some ways, it muddies the water when you return to watch the 2019 version.
If anything, a sequel might have been a better way to move forward, but perhaps they got cold feet after the lame duck the 1992 sequel became.
Whatever the creative reasons, the prequel does feel slightly redundant and may leave horror fans wishing that the genre would attempt something new rather than fixating on the glories of yesteryear, and with Exorcist Believer, The Nun 2, Evil Dead Rise, Saw X, Scream 1V and Insidious: The Red Door, who can blame them?
More Stories
