Paramount’s ‘Pet Sematary’ Adaptation Has Found Its Directors

By Sheryl Oh

Another big Stephen King movie is being brought to life.

Variety has the scoop that Paramount is moving forward with their long-gestating adaptation of Pet Sematary with directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer.

Tapping into promising indie horror talent to adapt Stephen King books for the big screen seems to be the ideal way forward (look at how much success Andy Muschietti’s gotten for helming IT). Pet Sematary will undoubtedly bring a big crowd with it. The book finds its way on top 10 lists fairly often. It was first adapted in the late 1980s. Written by King himself and directed by Mary Lambert, the 1989 version of Pet Sematary divided critics but did well enough to spawn a sequel, Pet Sematary Two, which was much more poorly received.

The premise of Pet Sematary is effortlessly creepy. Almost anything involving dead animals in any capacity tends to tug at heartstrings as it is, but this one is just plain unnerving. The story follows the Creeds, a family of four plus their cat, who relocate to a rural town somewhere in Maine (much like in many of Stephen King’s other works). The Creeds later find out that they have moved in next to a pet “sematary”, which has the eerie ability to bring the creatures buried there back to life.

Kolsch and Widmyer are best known for making Starry Eyes, which premiered at SXSW three years ago. Starry Eyes, which was partially crowdfunded through a Kickstarter campaign, delivered a surprisingly entertaining horror gem about the insidiousness of seeking fame and fortune in Hollywood, combining great gore and impressive performances. The duo has also directed episodes for MTV’s modern-day take on Scream and helmed a segment for Holidays, an aptly-titled holiday-horror anthology film.

The success of IT has really opened the door for the development of more Stephen King adaptations, even though 2017 has seen a barrage of onscreen versions of the writer’s work as it is. 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was once tapped to bring Pet Sematary to life. Variety also reports that Sean Carter (Keep Watching) and Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) were in the running too.

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