Movies
‘Pet Sematary’ Role Was Rewritten for Actor and Double Hand Amputee John W. Lawson
Variety reports Friday evening that “actor, disability-inclusion advocate and double hand amputee” John W. Lawson (“American Horror Story”) has been cast as “Stanny” in Paramount Players’ untitled Pet Sematary prequel.
“I have myoelectric hands… or what people commonly call ‘cyborg,’” Lawson jokes to the site. “But most of the time, it’s just my hooks.”
Variety adds: “This news makes the Pet Sematary prequel one of the first major horror fiction films to cast a double amputee in a starring role.”
Interestingly, Paramount revealed that, in the script, Stanny was not originally without hands. After Lawson auditioned, the role was rewritten to suit him.
Lawson auditioned twice before hearing that new scenes had been written for the character. “And when I got the new sides,” he told Variety, “they had completely written the role for the character to be an amputee. Which was freakin’ awesome. Because it was not [an amputee role before] in any way. That, to me, was a real turning point, not only in casting, but in the mindset of Hollywood.”
Director Lindsey Beer told Variety: “John’s audition portrayed a layered range of both aggressiveness and vulnerability. His character is hiding a secret, and has led a difficult life that puts him on the offensive with our main character, young Jud Crandall. But underneath the bluster, Stanny is someone in search of connection, and he wants to tell our hero Jud the truth. [Lawson’s] performance really brought humanity and nuance to the role.”
You can read more over at the aforementioned link.
Production is currently underway on the untitled Pet Sematary prequel that will stream exclusively on Paramount Plus.
Lawson joins a cast that includes Jackson White, Forrest Goodluck, Jack Mulhern, Natalie Alyn Lind, Isabella Star LeBlanc, Henry Thomas, Samantha Mathis, and Pam Grier.
Paramount Plus should see the new Paranormal Activity released before the end of the year.
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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