Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is a prequel to the recent remake of Pet Sematary, which was a smart move because there's nowhere to go but up. That may be a bit harsh as the remake wasn’t out-and-out terrible. However, it at least frees the filmmakers up and saves them from being compared to the 1989 original movie, or even the King novel for that matter.
Jud, the old man from Pet Sematary is seen here as a young guy (Jackson White) in the ‘60s. As he’s trying to leave the small town of Ludlow, Maine with his girlfriend, Norma (Natalie Alyn Lind), they make an inadvertent pit stop to see his estranged buddy, Timmy (Jack Mulhern) who has just come back from the War. It’s obvious something’s not right with Timmy, and when his mangy dog bites Norma, it means they’ve got to stick around for a few days. Before long, people start dying and everyone knows the whack-a-doodle soldier is to blame. All that’s left to ask is, what does Jud plan to do about it?
Maybe because my expectations for a straight-to-streaming prequel to a remake of a Stephen King movie were in the toilet to begin with, but Pet Sematary: Bloodlines wasn’t too bad. Sure, the writers kind of tweak the origin to make the story work (and update Vietnam for WWII). However, if you can overlook that, you have to admit the film (which is pretty much a loose reworking of Bob Clark’s classic Deathdream) is always a little bit better than it needed to be at nearly every turn.
It helps that the supporting cast is aces. David Duchovny is strong as Timmy’s grieving father. I especially liked the scene where he catches his son eating the family dog and the expression on his face registers more as disappointment than anger or fear. Henry Thomas also delivers a solid performance as Jud’s dad (somewhat making up for his lackluster portrayal as Jack Torrance in King’s Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep) and it was fun seeing Pam Grier as the town’s spunky mail lady. Granted, Bloodlines may have its faults, but since it ends with Foxy Brown and Elliott from E.T. grabbing shotguns and joining forces with Agent Mulder to storm a house full of zombies, I can’t in good conscience give it any less than ** ½.
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