Editorials
There’s Only One King
For over 40 years, author Stephen King has been tapping into our greatest fears. With the new ‘Pet Sematary’ on the way, we look back at his career and why his writing is so timeless.
“Pet Sematary”—in its misspelled form—was scribbled by neighborhood children behind Stephen King’s house, providing the inspiration for the title of his 1983 book. It was then adapted into a movie by Mary Lambert in 1989. Thirty years later, the cult classic has been reimagined by filmmakers Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer to terrify a whole new generation of moviegoers.
Pet Sematary is about a family who moves into a new town and discovers a series of strange occurrences at a nearby ancient burial site where dead pets are laid to rest in the hopes that they will come back to life. After a tragic accident, the parents turn to the cemetery’s magic powers to revive one of their children, which results in a whole new nightmare. It’s not only a highly anticipated 2019 release but also another testament to the timeless resonance of King’s stories.
“HAVING KING’S WORK TRANSLATE FROM PAGE TO SCREEN HAS FURTHER EMBEDDED HIS NAME IN THE POP CULTURE CONSCIOUSNESS.”
Multi award-winning author Stephen King has penned so many iconic tales over the course of his career—with 58 novels and approximately 200 short stories on his resume—that it’s impossible to choose just one as his defining work. His first novel Carrie (1974), about a telekinetic teen girl with an abusive mother, led to director Brian De Palma’s powerful on-screen adaptation. The 1976 film boosted the reputation of King, who previously was just another struggling, unknown writer. In a 1979 New York Times interview, he said, “The [Carrie] movie made the book and the book made me.” But then there’s also The Shining, It, Misery, Cujo, Salem’s Lot, and, of course, the aforementioned Pet Sematary in his bibliography. Many of which are notable for being both bestselling books and box office gold. It’s no small feat for a man from such humble beginnings.
Born in 1947 in Portland, Maine, King studied English at the University of Maine. It was on campus that he would meet his wife Tabitha—a prolific author in her own right. The couple built a life for themselves in nearby Orrington, which would later play a big role in King writing Pet Sematary’. He and his lived right next to a major truck route where many pets became roadkill. Local kids made a habit of burying their cats and dogs in a makeshift cemetery nearby. As fate would have it, King’s family cat wound up killed by a semi and he was forced to have a conversation about death with his young daughter. That dialogue and experience would become the foundation for what would become Pet Sematary.
Over the course of his 40-plus year career, King has penned several novels that have become the groundwork for classic film adaptations, from auteurs like Stanley Kubrick and Brian De Palma. Having his work translate from page to screen has further embedded King’s name in the horror and pop culture consciousness. That impact has been even more evident in recent years as both It— originally a two-night television miniseries in 1990—and Carrie have been remade as big budget films. The new Pet Sematary is shaping up to be an even more horrifying adaptation.
Pet Sematary, which originally hit theatres in 1989, is next in line. Starring Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow, 2019 version follows the twisted journey of Dr. Louis Creed (Clarke), a flawed hero whose trauma leads him to ultimately foolish but understandable motivations. It’s not hard to sympathize with Dr. Creed’s decision to resurrect his daughter after she was struck by a truck, especially if you’re a parent or know the harrowing emptiness of living on when someone you love is gone. That’s what makes Pet Sematary such a poignant story about grief.
“EVEN AMIDST SUPERNATURAL HAPPENINGS, KING’S STORIES GET AT THE HEART OF PEOPLE’S VERY REAL ANXIETIES.”
Diehard King fans will be quick to note that in the novel and original film it was actually Dr. Creed’s toddler son Gage who was killed and reanimated, but the new film reveals a slightly different vision. Rather than focusing the horror on someone so young, the project utilizes the range of slightly older actor to breathe new life into King’s book. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said, “Gage is so young, you can’t really do that much with him. So this way, we’re able to really get underneath our affected child. We’re able to get into the psychological horror of a child [coming back] because of [the daughter’s] age.” Given how positive early reviews have been, it seems critics are on board with the change as well.
Even amidst supernatural happenings, from undead creatures to vampires, King’s stories get at the heart of very real, private anxieties that happen to ordinary people. Perhaps that’s why they’re so terrifying: the notion that it could happen to you. And because King’s books center on universal and timeless themes, they are ripe for adaptations. While the terrifying story remains the same in the upcoming Pet Sematary, the subtle plot shifts should be expected because as the film’s tagline says: “They don’t come back the same.”
Pet Sematary is in theatres April 5th.
Horror was permanently changed in 1984 when Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street unleashed Freddy Krueger on the world. This brutal boogeyman pushed horror to exciting new places, but so much of the character’s impact is the result of Robert Englund’s quintessential performance.
Englund has a long and storied career as a performer that’s covered far more than horror alone. However, there’s such a sublime, sinister synergy between Englund and this heightened genre that’s made him one of horror’s most revered names.
Englund is set to scare audiences again as a malevolent reimagining of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio Unstrung, but he’s also been responsible for many more macabre monsters.
The Cricket (Pinocchio Unstrung)
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has somehow spun a morbid experiment in public domain exploitation into its own cinematic universe, the Twisted Childhood Universe. There’s been increasing promise in the TCU’s various films, which has also led to a growing list of capable horror guest stars, such as Roger L. Jackson, Richard Brake, and now Robert Englund. Englund is by far the most impressive name to attach himself to one of these movies, and Pinocchio Unstrung certainly doesn’t squander the opportunity to have him on board as its terrifying take on Jiminy Cricket. Englund’s performance as “The Cricket” in Pinocchio Unstrung becomes a sinister subversion of the classic character who is meant to function as Pinocchio’s conscience and moral compass.
Englund’s Cricket is instead the ultimate instigator who perpetually pushes Pinocchio into greater violence that condemns humanity and its many misgivings, rather than idolizing all the “real boys” in the world. Pinocchio Unstrung is a love letter to practical effects and old-fashioned animatronics and puppetry. This means that Englund just provides the voice for Cricket, but it’s still a deeply sinister performance and one of the most unnerving characters to appear in the Twisted Childhood Universe. Once again, Englund is careful not to just repurpose his Freddy Krueger persona, and he instead develops an original voice that plays into past renditions of the character. There’s a palpable rage and disdain in Englund’s Cricket that turns him into a threatening loose cannon and makes the audience forget that he’s only a few inches tall.
The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera)
The Phantom of the Opera is a foundational horror story that’s still being explored over a century later. 1989’s cinematic adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 classic doesn’t always get the respect that it deserves, despite it containing one of Englund’s most nuanced horror performances. Directed by Dwight H. Little, who previously helmed the underrated Halloween 4, The Phantom of the Opera operates as a gorier take on Leroux’s source material that feels like a lost Hammer Film picture. The titular Phantom is the perfect role for Englund following A Nightmare on Elm Street, and his participation in the picture was initiated by Englund promising his agent that he’d do another horror project after Elm Street’s success.
Englund was excited to tackle an iconic character who had previously been portrayed by formative horror legends like Herbert Lom, Claude Rains, and Lon Chaney. Englund beautifully fits the mold and is sublime casting for this ‘80s take on the character. Englund taps into a powerful dichotomy between the Phantom’s brutal and tragically sympathetic nature. It’s a role that’s significantly deeper than Freddy Krueger and better explores Englund’s range as an actor, which helps get him away from cheesy one-liners. It also doesn’t hurt that Little concocts a uniquely twisted take on the Phantom’s disfigurement, which was achieved by sewing human skin onto Englund’s face. The modern-day sequences that bookend the film were meant to tie into a planned sequel, The Phantom of the Opera 2: Terror in Manhattan, which unfortunately never came to fruition.
Victor Creel (Stranger Things)
Love it or hate it, Stranger Things assembled some impressive guest stars that took advantage of their respective legacies as ‘80s genre legends, such as Linda Hamilton, Matthew Modine, Cary Elwes, and Robert Englund. Englund’s turn as Victor Creel in the streaming hit’s fourth season is one of the series’ best performances and a role that rises above the mediocrity around it. Victor Creel is an opportunity for Englund to actually subvert expectations and play against type. It’s brilliant casting that initially conditions the audience to be wary of Creel and view him as a frightening threat. This perception is reinforced when Creel is encountered in a psychiatric ward and horrifically blinded.
Creel’s disturbing eye-gouged appearance is revealed to actually be a symptom of his tragic life and the psychological torment he received from Vecna. Creel is hard to look at, but there’s nothing to fear about him. He’s led a sad life that’s filled with inescapable guilt. He’s more like one of Freddy Krueger’s victims than Freddy himself. Englund goes above and beyond as Victor Creel, and the emotional monologues that he delivers are among some of the actor’s best work and proof that Englund’s still got it.
Marquis de Sade (Night Terrors)
Tobe Hooper’s Night Terrors is a particularly forgettable ’90s horror film that faced a litany of production problems and changes that certainly didn’t do it any favors. The story is a mess, even for a Cannon Video production, but it provides the novelty of Englund pulling double duty as the cruel Marquis de Sade and his modern day descendant, Paul Chevalier. Night Terrors banked on the novelty of Hooper directing Englund as one of history’s greatest monsters, and his performance is easily the best thing about this movie.
There’s an unabashed glee to Englund’s work as the Marquis de Sade that’s reminiscent of Freddy Krueger’s twisted jubilation over his creative murders, yet it doesn’t just feel like a carbon copy of Englund’s iconic role. There’s an appreciated degree of restraint going on before the film goes off the rails and incorporates supernatural elements and abstract dream sequences. Chevalier and his modern cult worship the Marquis de Sade as a deity of torture and liberation. The nightmare sequences that involve the Marquis de Sade are the most chilling and make this figure look as frightening on the outside as he is on the inside. There’s enough to latch onto here, even if the film as a whole is a mess, and Englund doesn’t squander the opportunity to play two sides of the same creepy coin.
Scarecrow (Injustice 2)
Robert Englund is no stranger to voiceover work, and he’s voiced his share of macabre and memorable characters over the years. That being said, one of his most inspired roles is the work that he did in NetherRealm’s dark DC Comics-based fighter, Injustice 2, where he plays Jonathan Crane, better known as the Scarecrow. There’s a certain tongue-in-cheek brilliance to having Englund voicing the Batman rogue who is the self-appointed “Master of Fear.” There’s certainly a meta quality to Englund’s casting here, right down to how some of his dialogue explicitly references Freddy Krueger one-liners like “Welcome to your nightmare” and “Now I’m playing with power.”
Englund doesn’t just phone in this performance or replicate his work as Freddy. The actor cultivates a unique voice for Scarecrow that cuts to the core of this character in a menacing manner. Englund’s Scarecrow is raspy, erratic, and honestly one of the better takes on Dr. Crane. It makes one wonder what he’d be able to accomplish if he were playing the part in live-action. He takes a simple role and breathes fresh life into it. Curiously, it’s not his first time playing a Batman villain. He does comparably interesting work as The Riddler in The Batman and the more obscure sorcerer, Felix Faust, in Justice League.
Evil Bloodthirsty Brian (The Hughleys)
There’s a surprising relationship between horror icons and sitcoms, with Robert Englund being no stranger to adding a devious dose of terror to a farcical comedy. Englund shows up as a playful take on Lucifer in Married…with Children, but he also provides a genuinely chilling performance in the first season of The Hughleys. Season one’s “Storm O’ the Century” is centered around the Hughleys and Rogerses getting stranded at a seemingly haunted hotel during an intense blizzard.
“Storm O’ the Century” functions as a proper love letter to horror fans, with genre guest stars that include The Addams Family’s John Astin, The Shining’s Shelley Duvall, and Robert Englund as the comically-named Evil Bloodthirsty Brian. The episode certainly prioritizes its comedy, but it manages to also be legitimately creepy thanks to a locked-in performance by Englund. He’s used sparingly, but always to punctuate a particular scene and function as a jump scare. Evil Bloodthirsty Brian sports a ghastly scar and has a look that’s just frightening enough to be included on a ’90s sitcom. Anyone who is curious about Englund’s performance can check it out for free on Tubi.
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