Books
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Pet Sematary’ Retrospective Book Releasing in 2024 for the Film’s 35th Anniversary!
Bloody Disgusting is very excited to report today that the team behind the documentary Unearthed and Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary – now streaming on SCREAMBOX – is headed back into the world of Stephen King’s terrifying horror classic with a brand new book!
A retrospective book to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Stephen King’s big screen cult classic, Pet Sematary, Hollywood Comes to Maine: Revisiting Stephen King’s Pet Sematary will serve as an updated and greatly expanded companion book to the 2015 documentary, Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary.
The coffee table book will include new interviews with cast and crew, newly discovered archive from the production, essays from prominent writers, filmmakers, and film historians, as well as interviews with those inside the Stephen King book + film orbit.
The team explains, “Pet Sematary has regional significance in New England because it was the first feature film King adaptation to be shot entirely in his home state. This book will tell the stories of the locals who stepped up to the plate to help the Hollywood people “from away” to make an enduring horror cult classic.”
Writer John Campopiano tells BD, “I’m someone who cares deeply about the history of regional New England filmmaking, so the experience of making our 2015 documentary, Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary, was a powerful experience. It was also a challenge for me and Justin White as it was our very first film project. We were fairly green to the process of making a film and we had to learn many things by trial and error. For me, I figured that documentary would be my one and only statement on the book and film that I love so much. But, after being persuaded by filmmaker and friend, Gary Smart, we’ve decided to revisit the old burial ground by putting together an exhaustive coffee table book just in time for the film’s 35th anniversary next year in 2024. I’m thrilled to be revisiting the IP and physical homeland of Maine with Justin, and to be collaborating with Gary Smart and his Cult Screenings UK Ltd. Gary has produced several books about his own documentaries, to huge success, so this feels like an ideal meeting of the minds to tell the wider story of this King classic.”
Gary Smart adds, “We at Cult Screenings UK Ltd are thrilled and honoured to collaborate with the immensely talented John Campopiano on our upcoming book, delving into the making of the iconic 1989 film ‘Pet Sematary.’ Having witnessed John’s exceptional documentary on the same subject, we are excited to combine our expertise and passion for filmmaking to provide fans with an even deeper exploration of this beloved horror classic. Together, we aim to unravel the untold stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and the enduring impact that ‘Pet Sematary’ has had on the genre. Get ready to unearth the secrets buried within the pages of this extraordinary journey!”
While you wait, stream Unearthed and Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary on SCREAMBOX now!
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Don Coscarelli’s horror classic Phantasm, and Coscarelli returns to that iconic universe with his brand new book PHICTION: Tales from the World of Phantasm. PHICTION explores characters and stories from the Phantasm universe, with an introduction by best-selling author Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep).
In the wake of a hardcover limited edition version of PHICTION being put up for grabs at a special event back in March, the paperback version of the book is now available.
You can grab your paperback copy from Amazon today!
Coscarelli notes within the pages of the book that his days of directing Phantasm movies are behind him, but PHICTION is without question the next best thing. What you’re getting here are SIX brand new stories written by Coscarelli himself, each of them expanding upon characters from the movies. The stories wonderfully add to the lore of the Phantasm Universe, and since they’re entirely in-canon, they’re guaranteed to change the way you watch the movies.
If you’re a Phantasm fan who’s hungry for more, PHICTION essentially delivers an entire anthology series of fresh tales, straight from the creator’s mind. It’s an absolute must-read.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new book…
In 1979, filmmaker Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-tep, The Beastmaster) wrote and directed what became one of the seminal sci-fi/horror films of that era, Phantasm. The film was a worldwide theatrical success and spawned four acclaimed sequels.
For the first time in the history of horror cinema, a celebrated filmmaker of a cult-classic horror film series has continued the adventure by swapping mediums and personally authoring a series of fictional works exploring in detail the characters he originally created. Coscarelli has now returned to the world of Phantasm to tell more tales of these inspiring phantasmic heroes.
PHICTION comprises six stories set in the expansive Phantasm world that have never been told before…
In Life and Death in the ‘Nam, we explore the origin story of our favorite ice cream vendor hero Reggie and his first encounter with the supernatural forces of evil in the jungles of the Vietnam war. It’s a two-fisted tale of a young man enduring the horrors of war and at the same time facing down the horrors of the unknown.
In Behind the Mortuary Door, we learn the secrets of the embalming trade from one of the most memorable characters from the original film.
In He Was Home Alone, we revisit the young boy Tim, prior to the events from Phantasm III, and how, using only his wits and guile, he survives against unspeakable horrors.
In Tobe, we follow the trail of one of Phantasm’s forgotten characters as he witnesses the key events of that film from an entirely different perspective.
In The Rocky Road, we track the events of one of the Phantasm saga’s fan-favorite characters, the nunchuck-wielding Rocky as she’s mustered out of the armed services and travels the backroads of the rural South in the early 90’s. In a desperate search to find her family she encounters love, vengeance and horror, frequently reacting in the only way she knows how, with her fists and her feet.
And finally in Escape From New York, we join another Phantasm fan-favorite character, the diminutive Chunk from Phantasm Ravager as he attempts to flee his home in the big city from the horror of an oncoming apocalypse. Along the way he bonds with some unexpected allies on a thrilling quest for survival.
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