Hollywood loves money. Who doesn’t? It is this love of money that has Hollywood making reboots, remakes, franchise-altering sequels (think last year’s Halloween), and reimaginings. Why spend time, effort, and money coming up with original ideas when you can just polish up something old and ride it to the bank! 2017’s IT was an example of a successful remake of an old property. It was made for less than $40 million and grossed over $700 million worldwide. So, it makes sense that Warner Bros. would look at other Stephen King properties and try to repeat the success of IT. That brings us to Pet Sematary which hits the big screen on April 5th.

Did we really need this remake? No, but if it’s as good as IT was then I’ll be happy. I was a fan of the original movie from 1989 and I did read the book once in middle school, but I have remained skeptical of the upcoming remake. I am usually skeptical of all remakes, even though many have turned out great.

The movie was screened at the SXSW convention and we have the initial reactions from multiple people and media outlets:

So, the new @petsematarymov is GREAT. A worthy adaptation of one of King’s darkest, most difficult books. Makes a few changes, some that work very well, but some small things I missed. However, some MAJOR beats really hit (including one I feared they wouldn’t do… BUT THEY DID!) pic.twitter.com/HEcBRcljkL

— Sean O'Connell (@Sean_OConnell) March 17, 2019

#PetSematary: It’s creepy! There’s a lot of creepy evil kiddo wickedness! I like the “flip!” I yelped in joy during the end credits because, well, yeah! A solid close to #SXSW.

— Matt Donato (@DoNatoBomb) March 17, 2019

#PetSematary has the kind of serious balls any good adaptation should have. The themes and encroaching dread of King’s novel are alive and well, but there are enough clever deviations to give diehard fans some welcome surprises. Big ups all around, but Seimetz is a legend. #SXSW

— Haleigh Foutch (@HaleighFoutch) March 17, 2019

#PetSematary is *vicious* and I LOVED it. Super brutal visuals and was thrilled to see Widmyer & Kölsch fully embrace the deeply unsettling themes of mortality from the book. And WOW Jeté Laurence. They really pushed it with this adaptation & it worked for me – big time. 😺 #sxsw

— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) March 17, 2019

#PetSematary delivers a solid sense of dread from start to finish. It earns its well-timed jump scares, and terrific sound design and gnarly effects add extra layers of creepy. I think King fans will dig it.
Move over Goose, it’s Church’s turn.#sxsw pic.twitter.com/jqkuLKOfWq

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) March 17, 2019

#PetSematary hits you like a terrifying and emotional brick. The film manipulates the source material to its own morbid delight. The “big” change is just as effective and menacing as you’d expect it to me. This film is DARK. #SXSW

— Noah Levine (@ZProductionz) March 17, 2019

So… it sounds like a good movie! There are countless other reactions to the film that you can find via the #PetSematary tag and the overwhelming majority are positive. I didn’t actually see any negative ones, but there’s always someone that can’t be pleased. when it’s all said and done, I think this may be a good date night film. I better call my babysitter.

What do you think of these reactions? Are you going to see the movie? Let us know in the comments below.

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