Movies
‘Pet Sematary’ Will Most Likely Get a Prequel Over a Sequel
Whether a film is original or a remake, everything that’s a hit eventually becomes a franchise. With Paramount Pictures taking another stab at Stephen King‘s novel “Pet Sematary”, there’s already talk of a followup – warranted after the ultra-hyped reviews (read ours) out of the SXSW World Premiere. But if the studio were to dig up more sour ground, it would be in the form of a prequel.
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura tells Consequence of Sound that a return to Ludlow, Maine wouldn’t be out of the question given all the backstory that’s buried within its hills.
“I generally don’t start thinking about [sequels] until they’re a success,” di Bonaventura admits, contending, “I think if there’s anything here, there’s a prequel. I think if you look at the book, we didn’t cover all that stuff that happens before the Creed family moves in.
“So, I think there’s a movie there, and I think I’d be particularly interested in doing that,” he continued, “because, again, it’s the source material and you are going toward something that also has a lot of crazy, creepy feelings about it.”
Senior writer and Losers’ Club host Dan Caffrey points out that the town of Ludlow is rich in short stories, mostly told through the character of Jud Crandall, who’s portrayed by John Lithgow in the new film.
Maybe we’ll get a more Wendigo-oriented story?
Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch direct the new R-rated adaptation that opens Nationwide on April 5, 2019.
Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed, who, after relocating with his wife Rachel and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall, setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
Twins Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie play Gage Creed, with Jeté Laurence as Ellie Creed. Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz are our new Louis and Rachel Creed, with John Lithgow as Jud Crandall. Obssa Ahmed is playing Victor Pascow, with Alyssa Brooke Levine as Zelda.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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